The first look of Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer has been unveiled to the public. The first black and white image of Murphy in Oppenheimer shows the actor with a cigarette between his lips acknowledging the notorious scientist's addiction to nicotine. Oppenheimer was such a heavy smoker that he would later have throat cancer, and it’s interesting that Nolan chose to add this detail to the character's first look. After giving back-to-back blockbusters such as Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet, it is sure that Nolan is not going to hold back on this and will go into this project guns blazing as always.
Nolan has been known to deliver mind-bending stories such as Inception, Interstellar, Tenet, etc. but this new film of his is based on a true story just like Dunkirk. As Dunkirk dealt with a specific period of World War II that took place on the field, Oppenheimer will deal with the same period of World War II except it focuses on what happened off field since the movie is based on the creation of the atomic bomb.
The biographical drama film is written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is based on American Prometheus, a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film is a co-production between Syncopy Inc. and Atlas Entertainment. Marking the 6th collaboration between the actor and director, Cillian Murphy stars in the titular role, the theoretical physicist who is credited with being the father of the atomic bomb for his role in the Manhattan Project—the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. The film also has a stellar ensemble cast with the likes of Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Jack Quaid, Alden Ehrenreich and Michael Angarano. The film will be released on 21 July 2023, three years after Nolan's previous science fiction venture with Tenet.