THE FIRST look at Irish actor Cillian Murphy as one of the fathers of the atomic bomb in an upcoming biopic has been released.
Murphy will play J Robert Oppenheimer in the upcoming film Oppenheimer from Christopher Nolan of Interstallar and the Batman trilogy fame.
Oppenheimer is one of the fathers of the atomic bomb which was created during the Second World War and later found loyalty to the United States.
Murphy and Nolan have previously teamed up for Batman Begins (2005), where he portrayed the villain Scarecrow, Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Dunkirk (2017).
The feature has started production in New Mexico, and has also recently added Irish actor Kenneth Branagh to the cast.
Branagh, who is receiving acclaim for his Oscar nominated film Belfast, and Nolan have paired up in recent years for blockbusters Dunkirk and Tenet. He is as of yet playing an unspecified role.
Other previously announced cast members include Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich and David Krumholtz.
Blunt is set to play biologist Katherine Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Gen. Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Florence Pugh plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller, Michael Angarano plays Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.
The film has a budget of $100 million, and is slated for release by Universal Pictures worldwide on 21 July, 2023.
Cillian Murphy will also return to our TV screens this coming Sunday for the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders.
