Image via Universal Pictures // 

Production on the film is currently underway in New Mexico…

Almost two years following the release of his time-travel thriller Tenet, Christopher Nolan is back in the director’s chair, this time for the wartime epic Oppenheimer. Starring Cillian Murphy in the titular role alongside Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and numerous more Hollywood heavyweights, the film is set to chronicle the life of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the atomic bomb.

The first look for the film comes in the form of a black and white portrait of Murphy as the famed physicist. It’s a pretty straightforward shot, the Irish actor donning a fedora while with a half-finished cigarette in his mouth. But it definitely captures that sense of moral decay associated with the Manhattan Project, and Murphy strikes a solid resemblance to the original Oppenheimer.

Nolan fans would know he’s no stranger to the historical drama, 2017’s Dunkirk receiving critical acclaim for its sense of realism and immersion. Granted, he did cop a bit of flack for the mindfuck of 2020’s Tenet (check out our Executive Decision for it here), but as long as Oppenheimer doesn’t become a science-fiction epic with crisscrossing timelines, complex plot points or impossible-to-hear dialogue, we’re guessing he’s got a home run with this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-eMt3SrfFU

Oppenheimer will be released in theatres on July 21, 2023. Check out lead star Cillian Murphy as the titular character below and keep your eyes peeled for the first teaser trailer for the film.