It’s a day ending in ‘y’, so you know what that means — another acting heavyweight has boarded the next Christopher Nolan movie! Since the Oscar winning Oppenheimer director set his latest project at Universal just last month, a flurry of exciting names have been added to the call sheet of what’s already shaping up to be quite the blockbuster event for summer 2026. First there was Matt Damon, then everyone’s favourite friendly neighbourhood Tom Holland signed up for a lead role — and just last week, Zendaya and Anne Hathaway entered the fray, too. Now, per THR‘s reporting, it looks like A Quiet Place: Day One star Lupita Nyong’o has just become the newest addition to the movie’s increasingly starry ensemble.
Technically, we had an idea Nyong’o may have been lining up a part in Nolan’s 13th film, as Deadline had included her name in social media posts following Hathaway and Zendaya’s casting before hastily retracting. But now we have official confirmation, and with the arrival of Nyong’o — no stranger to a blockbuster having helped anchor two Black Panther movies, lent her voice to The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, and led the aforementioned A Quiet Place: Day One — Nolan has his first (and almost certainly not last) fistful of actors assembled for his mysterious new movie. As for what that movie is, your guess remains as good as ours, with A) Blue Thunder riffing ‘copter joint, B) period vampire picture, and C) None of the above all still very much in play at the time of writing.
Set to be directed by Nolan from his own self-written script, the Inception director’s second Universal collaboration is already shaping up to be something quite unique. In an earnings call reported on by Variety, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond shared that the format’s greatest champion is set to experiment with “new IMAX technology” and “never-before-used equipment” whilst shooting his next blockbuster. What exactly that could mean for Nolan, and for his cast and crew, remains to be seen. We’ll find out though when Christopher Nolan’s next movie hits IMAX screens worldwide on 17 July, 2026. *Googles IMAX drones*