It’s confirmed. Cillian Murphy has landed the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
According to Deadline, the 45-year-old Irish actor will play the film’s titular character J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American physicist who is also known as the “father of the atomic bomb.” Universal confirmed the casting news on Friday, about a month after announcing it secured the rights to the project following a tense bidding war with other major studios.
Oppenheimer is reportedly based on American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film will reportedly be filmed with IMAX cameras and is expected to be similar to 2017’s Dunkirk in scope.
In addition to serving as the film’s writer and director, Nolan will also produce Oppenheimer alongside Emma Thomas and Charles Roven of Atlas Entertainment.
“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.”
Deadline reports Oppenheimer will begin production in early 2022, and is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters on July 21, 2023.
Murphy previously worked with Nolan on Dunkirk, Inception, and The Dark Knight trilogy. He most recently starred in Paramount Picture’s A Quiet Place Part II, alongside Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe.
Stay tuned as more information about Oppenheimer becomes available.
