Universal Pictures has released our first look at Peaky Blinders and Batman Begins star Cillian Murphy as theoretical physicist and "father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer in director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming biopic. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer will see Murphy lead the project, with the movie expected to explore Oppenheimer’s role in the Manhattan Project.

In the image, released by Universal Pictures via Variety, Cillian Murphy perfectly captures the broken presence of the man who would become changed by his own, world-altering invention. Cast in stark black-and-white, Murphy looks every bit the fractured scientist, and it is easy to imagine his next being “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will see the seminal director move away from Warner Bros. for the first time, with Universal Pictures having won what was surely a dramatic bidding war for Oppenheimer. The project will be based on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning book "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwi, but is expected to approach Oppenheimer’s story with the usual Christopher Nolan flare.

"The difference with this one is the story is there, everybody knows what happened. But Chris is telling it in a different way, as with Chris you would expect,” Cillian Murphy has previously teased. “That’s all I can say. Is it focused on a particular period of his life? The Manhattan Project, perchance? I’m not going to say. They’d kill me — they’re so strict!”

Murphy has collaborated with Christopher Nolan several times throughout his career, but Oppenheimer will be the first time he takes the lead. After supporting roles in the likes of 2005's Batman Begins and the sequels The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, as well as parts in both Inception and the World War II drama Dunkirk, Murphy is thrilled to finally be at the forefront of a Christopher Nolan movie.

"It’s the first time he’s cast me in a lead, which I’m still a bit in shock about, but I’m thrilled. It’s a huge part and a lot of work,” the actor said. “But in my estimation, you’re working with one of the greatest living directors, so you’re in safe hands."

Oppenheimer Has Amassed a Stellar Supporting Cast

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Universal Pictures

This being a Nolan movie, the top of the Hollywood A-list have clambered over each other to be involved, resulting in one of the most stacked supporting casts of all time. Alongside Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer stars a cavalcade of recognizable names including Emily Blunt as Katherine Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, as well as Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, and Kenneth Branagh.

Oppenheimer is scheduled to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures on July 21, 2023. Production on Oppenheimer is expected to begin in early 2022, with the plan to shoot on Imax 65mm and 65mm large-format film.