Cillian Murphy has been cast as the lead in Christopher Nolan’s next historical epic, Oppenheimer.
Dunkirk director Nolan, who was last in cinemas with time-bending blockbuster Tenet in August 2020, is set to release the film via Universal Pictures after a heated bidding war between studios, and the US release date has already been pegged as July 21, 2023.
Peaky Blinders actor Murphy will star as US theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, who is known as ‘the father of the atomic bomb’ due to his work with the Manhattan Project in developing the first nuclear weapons during World War Two.
The movie is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and will begin production in early 2022.
Written and directed by Nolan, the film marks the sixth collaboration between him and Murphy after the actor’s appearance as Dr Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, in the Dark Knight trilogy, as well as his role as Robert Fischer in Inception and a small cameo in Dunkirk.
Nolan is known for recasting actors in different roles throughout his movies, including Tom Hardy, Christian Bale, Kenneth Branagh, Marion Cotillard and Anne Hathaway.
Sir Michael Caine is currently his most frequently used actor, having appeared as Alfred Pennyworth in Nolan’s Batman films, as well as in The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet and in a voice cameo in Dunkirk.
Oppenheimer will also see Nolan teaming up again with his wife and long-term producer Emma Thomas, composer Ludwig Göransson (Tenet, Black Panther), Tenet editor Jennifer Lame and director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema (Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar).
‘Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas’ films have shattered the limits of what cinematic storytelling can achieve,’ said Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Chairman, Donna Langley. ‘We are thrilled to be working alongside them on this exceptional and extraordinary project and are grateful for their shared passion and commitment to the theatrical experience.’
Oppenheimer is set for release on July 21, 2023.
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