Fact Check: Is Christopher Nolan's Brother a Suspected Hitman Called 'Oppenheimer'?

Sometimes life can be stranger than fiction, and that appeared to be the case when the internet was made aware of a bizarre rumor circulating that movie director Christopher Nolan's brother was a hitman using the codename "Oppenheimer."

In 2009, Matthew Nolan was arrested and charged with the murder of accountant Robert Cohen in Costa Rica.

Nolan, famous for writing and directing films such as The Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk, has a new movie out on Friday July 21, Oppenheimer. The biographical drama stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the lead scientist in the creation of the atomic bomb in the 1940s that eventually resulted in the weapons that leveled the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Ahead of the movie's release, social media users were pointed towards outlandish claims that Nolan's brother is a hitman who used the codename "Oppenheimer."

It sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood movie, so what are the facts behind this claim about filmmaker Nolan, and his alleged "hitman" brother?

The Claim

Bringing up previous claims, a Twitter user and cartoonist known as Mr. Chau (@Srirachachau) told his followers about the near-unbelievable rumor about the Nolan family.

"Learning that Christopher Nolan's fugitive hitman brother's codename is 'Oppenheimer' is actually what turned me around on him entirely as an artist," Mr. Chau wrote on Wednesday, July 19.

He went on to suggest "Why does he keep making movies about crime and losing your family? Because his brother is a fugitive."

He clarified that the sibling in question was Christopher Nolan's older brother, Matthew Nolan, not his younger brother, screenwriter Jonathan Nolan who has collaborated with the filmmaker in the past.

Chau's tweet went viral, with 4.4 million people viewing the post. Thousands of others reacted to it via comments and retweets.

The story dates back to events in 2005, which was later followed by charges and a conviction in 2009.

Christopher and Jonathan Nolan have never spoken publicly about their older brother. Newsweek has reached out to the brothers' representatives to request further comment.

The Facts

According to court records summarized by casetexts.com, Costa Rica unsuccessfully applied for Nolan to be extradited from the United States in 2009. In their records, they made a number of claims about the situation, and the circumstances surrounding Cohen's death.

Another man, Luis Alonso Douglas Mejia, was initially convicted of the murder in 2005, but the extradition court documents point to Nolan's involvement as a "hired killer."

"Costa Rica contends that 'Mejia contacted the accused [Nolan] and for a still undetermined amount of money, hired his services, both of them planning the manner in which they would deprive the victim of his freedom, in order to later murder him,'" casetexts.com summarized. However, the site also states that "Costa Rica did not submit evidence corroborating its assertion that Mejia hired Nolan[...]for the express purpose of murdering Cohen."

It is not right to suggest Nolan is a "hitman" or "hired killer," as he has only been accused, and has not been found guilty. There is more evidence and testimony about his "codename," though, as he seemingly did use the name usually associated with the man who invented the atomic bomb

Within the court documents it seems there is provable evidence that Matthew Nolan used the alias 'Matthew McCall-Oppenheimer, which includes testimony and email records where he refers to himself as "MM McCall-Oppenheimer."

According to a 2010 article on the case by British newspaper The Times, it suggested Nolan chose the name Oppenheimer to link himself to the "immensely wealthy Oppenheimer diamond family." The choice of Oppenheimer as a name appears to be related to the South African diamond dealers, and not the scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is the focus of Christopher Nolan's latest movie.

Matthew Nolan was never convicted of being a hitman or of involvement in a murder. In 2009, four years after the death of Cohen, he filed for bankruptcy in Chicago.

He was arrested by FBI agent Pablo Araya that year and formally charged with Cohen's murder by Costa Rican authorities. However, a judge in the U.S. did not see sufficient evidence to extradite him, leading to the central American country eventually abandoning their request in 2010, according to the website howstuffworks.com.

While he was being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, Nolan attempted to escape and was sentenced to 14 months in jail as a result. After serving his time, Nolan was released. His current whereabouts and condition are unknown.

The Ruling

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team

While there is substantial evidence to suggest Matthew Nolan went by the alias or "codename" Oppenheimer, there is no concrete evidence that he was in fact a "hitman," despite accusations being made to that effect.

Much was written about Nolan at the time, and how his entire story sounded like the script to one of his brothers' movies, but the concise assertion that he is a "hitman" is misleading and needs further context.