Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast continues to grow as Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, and Benny Safdie join Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt. According a Hollywood Reporter article, Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) will play Jean Tatlock, Safdie (Licorice Pizza, Good Time) will play Edward Teller, and Malek (No Time To Die, Bohemian Rhapsody) is playing a scientist. This might be Nolan’s most decked out cast yet! Let’s recap what we know so far.
Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer
The theoretical physicist and director of the Los Alamos Laboratory responsible for the research and design of an atomic bomb.
Emily Blunt is Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer
A radical Berkeley student and former Communist Party member who married Oppenheimer.
Florence Pugh is Jean Tatlock
A member of the Communist Party of the United States who had an off-and-on affair with Oppenheimer.
Matt Damon is Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves
United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project.
Robert Downey Jr. is Lewis Strauss
Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission who initiated hearings that questioned Oppenheimer’s loyalty to the United States.
Benny Safdie is Edward Teller
A Hungarian physicist who is known as the father of the hydrogen bomb and a member of the Manhattan Project.
Rami Malek is a Scientist
Presumably a scientist involved with the Manhattan Project.
Universal Pictures describes Oppenheimer as an IMAX shot 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 film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
Oppenheimer will begin production in early 2022. Location scouting in New Mexico and California is already under way. Nolan will reunite with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, producer Charles Roven, editor Jennifer Lame, and composer Ludwig Göransson. Emma Thomas will also produce alongside Christopher Nolan under their Syncopy banner.
Oppenheimer hits theaters worldwide July 21, 2023. What do you think about this casting news? Are you excited?! Head over to our forums page to discuss your thoughts and to stay up to date with news as we learn it.
