It has been a big day for Christopher Nolan fans. Following more big casting news, Universal Pictures has released the first image of Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's upcoming feature film, Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer, which is based on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, will follow Murphy as the theoretical physicist and his involvement with the creation of the atom bomb during World War II. Murphy, who has been a long-time collaborator with Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Dunkirk), was the first to join the star-studded ensemble of the upcoming film from Universal, which will mark Nolan's first time working with the studio after his departure from Warner Bros.
Universal Pictures took to social media to unveil the first look of Murphy as Oppenheimer himself. The black and white photo, which can be seen below, reveals Murphy smoldering in a close-up, sporting a fedora while he has a cigarette in his mouth. For Murphy, getting to tap into this kind of role in a Nolan film was a no-brainer. “I’ll always turn up for Chris, whatever the size of the part. Chris will call me up and I’m there," Murphy recently shared with The Guardian. “Isn’t it wonderful that filmmakers are still making challenging, demanding films within the studio system, shot on film rather than Imax? I think he’s flying the flag. Him, Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino, are fantastic filmmakers making interesting work on a massive scale."
In preparation for the role, Murphy shared that he has been doing "an awful lot of reading” about Oppenheimer's life and the conflict that was going on while creating such a powerful weapon. “I’m interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual,” he continued. “The mechanics of it, that’s not really for me – I don’t have the intellectual capability to understand them, but these contradictory characters are fascinating."
Murphy then went on to add how this upcoming role feels closely related to his one on the acclaimed BBC series Peaky Blinders, where Murphy portrays gangster Tommy Shelby. “Tommy Shelby’s a complete contradiction, too,” he said. “People identify with that, because we all walk around with these contradictory ideas coexisting in our heads." Looking back at his past filmography, Murphy, who finally has a leading role in a Nolan film, will no doubt deliver one demanding performance that could potentially give him his much deserved Academy Award.
Oppenheimer's impressive cast will also star big names like Matt Damon as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, the chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Florence Pugh as Communist Party member Jean Tatlock, Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife, Katherine Oppenheimer Vissering, Benny Safdie as Hungarian Physicist Edward Teller, and Josh Hartnett as nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence. Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, and many more have been cast in undisclosed roles. Recent Oppenheimer set photos that have been released tease that filming has begun in what appears to be a 20th-century town setting.
Oppenheimer is set to release in theatres on July 21, 2023.
Source: Universal Pictures/Instagram, The Guardian