From the second both movies were confirmed to be releasing on the exact same day, the world has been captivated by the rivalry between Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Even though the star-studded and candy-colored comedy couldn’t be any more different from the historical biopic in every other way bar their respectively stacked ensembles, the battle has taken on a life of its own; so much so, in fact, that even Tom Cruise has felt compelled to weigh in.
While conspiracy theories have already emerged claiming that Warner Bros. deliberately pitted Barbie opposite Oppenheimer to stick it to Nolan for leaving the studio after decades of exclusivity, we prefer the idea that it was all Robert Pattinson‘s fault.
Don’t take it from us, though, because Nolan himself revealed to Tara Hitchcock how Batman’s influence ended up driving him deeper and deeper down the Robert J. rabbit hole.
“Yeah, Rob, off the back of Tenet, where we refer to Oppenheimer, and I had wrote this thing about this incredible moment that Oppenheimer and the scientist of the Manhattan Project had where they could not completely eliminate the possibility that when they triggered that first gadget, that first atomic device, they might start the chain reaction that would destroy the world.
We used that as a metaphor for Tenet, which Rob was in, and as a wrap gift, he gave me a book of Oppenheimer’s speeches from the 1950s, where you’re reading these great intellects trying to deal with the massive consequences of the way in which they’ve changed life forever, for all of us. I really got hooked, and got hooked on the story.”
If it wasn’t for Pattinson gifting Nolan with the book in question, then Oppenheimer as we know it may not exist, and it wouldn’t be on course for a titanic showdown opposite Barbie on July 21, proving that we really do live in the strangest timeline.
