Fans of Cillian Murphy given first glimpse of star in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer

The 45-year-old will play the lead role of J Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb.

In a black and white picture released by Universal Pictures, Murphy can be starring down the camera wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

With a cigarette hanging out of his mouth to complete the look, Murphy could easily be mistaken for his famous Peaky Blinders character Tommy Shelby.

It is not the first time Murphy will be working with the director.

Cillian previously starred in the Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk and Inception, all directed by Nolan.

He will star in the movie alongside a star studded cast including Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek and Josh Hartnett.

Murphy, who has previously worked with Nolan on the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk, will star alongside a stellar cast including Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Rami Malek and Josh Hartnett.

Actor-director Kenneth Branagh will also feature in the upcoming flick.

The film was also written by Christopher Nolan.

His creative partner and wife, Emma Thomas is set to produce the biographical movie along with Charles Roven of Atlas Entertainment.

Universal have said that the film is and “epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.”

The production giants landed the final rights to the film after a battle with Sony and MGM.

It has also been reported that Nolan was promised a production budget of almost $100 million, total creative control, a 100-day theatrical window, and a six-week blackout period from the studio where by Universal cannot release another movie three weeks before or three weeks after the flick is released.

Oppenheimer is based on the 2005 award winning book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer’ written by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin.

The film is set to be released on July 21, 2023, a release slot favoured by Christopher Nolan.