Celebrated filmmaker Christopher Nolan has roped in actor Cillian Murphy to play the lead role of American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in his upcoming historical epic.
Titled Oppenheimer, the film will focus on the life of the physicist whose role in running the Los Alamos Laboratory and involvement in the Manhattan Project has led him to be dubbed as the “father of the atomic bomb.”
Universal Pictures is producing the project, which marks Murphy and Nolan's fourth collaboration after Batman Begins, Inception and Dunkirk. Oppenheimer is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
The film is written by Nolan and he also produces along with Emma Thomas and Atlas Entertainment's Charles Roven.
“Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas' films have shattered the limits of what cinematic storytelling can achieve. 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," said Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Chairman, Donna Langley.
Like Nolan's previous films Dunkirk and The Dark Knight, the upcoming movie will also be shot with IMAX cameras. Production will begin in early 2022.
Universal Pictures will distribute Oppenheimer theatrically worldwide and will release the film in North American theatres on July 21, 2023.