Cillian Murphy has been pictured in a first look photo of Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming Oppenheimer biopic.

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The Peaky Blinders star, who plays the lead role of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the movie, is pictured staring intently while smoking a cigarette in a black and white shot shared by Universal Pictures. You can view the picture below.

The film, which has started production in New Mexico, has also added Kenneth Branagh to its all star line up which includes Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Rami Malek.

Branagh, whose role is unclear at this stage, previously appeared in Nolan’s last film Tenet and 2017’s Dunkirk, which also starred Murphy.

Murphy also previously appeared in Inception and Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.

Speaking about his latest role, he recently said: “I’m interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual. The mechanics of it, that’s not really for me – I don’t have the intellectual capability to understand them, but these contradictory characters are fascinating.”

Oppenheimer will be Nolan’s first film with Universal after parting ways with his longstanding studio Warner Bros. It is 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. Sherwin.

Almost every film by Nolan since 2002’s Insomnia has been released with Warner Bros. Their partnership included The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk, Inception and Tenet, while Warner Bros handled the international release of The Prestige and Interstellar.

Nolan’s decision to switch to Universal comes after the director criticised Warner Bros. over their plans to release their 2021 film slate simultaneously on streaming service HBO Max.

Oppenheimer is set for release in the US on July 21, 2023. A UK release date is yet to be announced.