Cillian Murphy in a hat as Robert Oppenheimer
(Universal Pictures)

Things We Saw Today: Cillian Murphy Is Smokin’ In the First Look at Christopher Nolan’s Star-Studded Oppenheimer

Both literally smoking and also he’s hot.

Christopher Nolan is known for his mind-bending movies. As someone who considers herself a Nolan bro, I am very excited for his upcoming film Oppenheimer, which is based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the film will star Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer, the man many refer to as the “father of the atomic bomb.”

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In a new image revealed by Variety, we get a look at Murphy as well as a bit more information about the incredibly stacked cast!

Kenneth Branagh is joining the cast, which isn’t that shocking given Branagh’s involvement in the last two releases from Nolan, but he also joins a slew of new actors heading into Nolan’s world, including Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Alden Ehrenreich, Benny Safdie, and more. Blunt is playing biologist and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer alongside Murphy’s Robert Oppenheimer.

Matt Damon is playing the director of the Manhattan Project, Gen. Leslie Groves Jr., and Robert Downey Jr. is playing Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The rest of the cast list includes breakdowns for roles, such as Florence Pugh as psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie as theoretical physicist Edward Teller, Michael Angarano as Robert Serber, and Josh Hartnett as American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.

Much like Branagh’s role, Jack Quaid was also announced for the film in an unknown role, along with other stars such as Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Dylan Arnold, David Krumholtz, Alden Ehrenreich, and Matthew Modine.

Sure, as a Nolan fan, I know that I am excited at the prospect of another Nolan film, but with this cast? I’m excited just to see the work they give us. And yes, I am very happy that Downey is working with Nolan. It is my dream come true (just a dream I didn’t know I had).

(image: Universal Pictures)

Here are some other things we saw out there today:

  • Zoë Kravitz rewrote Pussy Island multiple times after the start of #MeToo. (via IndieWire)
  • Cinema chain tries to overturn the “15A” rating for The Batman. (via The Independent)
  • Free Guy Is hitting Disney+ tomorrow. (via Asad Ayaz on Twitter)
  • The Walking Dead whiskey is releasing a special bottle to celebrate the final season. (via ComicBook.com)
  • Stephen King’s The Boogeyman is coming to Hulu. (via Screen Crush)

Anything we missed out there today, Mary Suevians? Let us know what you saw in the comments below!


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Rachel Leishman
Assistant Editor
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.