Mumbai, Jul 22, 2022, IANS

Mumbai, July 22 (IANS) Christopher Nolan's biographical film 'Oppenheimer' dropped its first poster, promising a blockbuster in the making. The film 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.

Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist, was regarded as the 'father of the atomic bomb'. He was heading the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II and it was there that the atomic bomb was first developed and tested.

The poster showcases a silhouette, presumably of lead actor Cillian Murphy, as he stands at the core of the mushroom cloud caused when the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese cities of HIroshima and Nagasaki on August 6, 1945. It showcases the devastation brought about by the bombing.

Nolan has returned to the director's chair after his last outing 'Tenet'. The film stars a powerful lineup of Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh and Rami Malek.

Universal won a bidding war for the project, Nolan's first movie in years not made with his longtime studio home, Warner Bros., according to 'Hollywood Reporter'.

Murphy, who commands a huge fan following thanks to the web series 'Peaky Blinders', has earlier worked with Nolan in films such as 'Inception', 'The Dark Knight' franchise and 'Dunkirk'. This is the first time, however, that Murphy is working in a Nolan film as the lead.

'Oppenheimer' is set to debut in theatres on July 21, 2023.