Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Christopher Nolan film to double bill with Oppenheimer, according to Cillian Murphy

‘There’s two options,’ actor said

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 16 August 2023 04:33 BST
Comments
Cillian Murphy chooses the Christopher Nolan film he would double bill with Oppenheimer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cillian Murphy has named the Christopher Nolan he thinks would make the best double bill with Oppenheimer.

The Irish actor plays J Robert Oppenheimer in the biographical drama about the man who helped create the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Nolan’s latest film has become a blockbuster hit – and one of the most successful film of the director’s career to date. At the time of writing, it has made $560.9m globally, and looks set to majorly build on this in the coming weeks following news its 70mm IMAX run has been extended.

Part of the reason for its huge success is undoubtedly due to the Barbenheimer craze, which saw many double bill the film with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Murphy told The Independent, in an interview completed ahead of the Hollywood actors’s strike, that he was “going to see Barbie“ – but he was then asked which Nolan film he would pick for a double bill with Oppenheimer.

It turns out that, for Murphy, it comes down to “two options”.

He told The Independent: “You could go Interstellar, which is very... explores similar scientific, physic themes. Or you could watch Dunkirk, which is also set in World War II. Dunkirk is shorter, so that might be a good match ‘cause it’s like an hour-and-a-half, and then you can go into [Oppenheimer].”

Oppenheimer marks Murphy’s sixth collaboration with Nolan after the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk.

When asked which Nolan film he’d have liked to appeared in, he settled for Interstellar, the space drama starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway released in 2017.

“I adore Interstellar just because I find it so emotional,” he said.

“I remember seeing it in the cinema when I had little kids. It just had a big impact on me. It broke my heart. I love watching his films when I’m not in them because you don’t have to freak out about the size of your ears, or whatever.”

Cillian Murphy chooses the Christopher Nolan film he would double bill with Oppenheimer

He said, though, that the “right people” were cast in the film. Murphy also addressed whether would star in 28 Years Later, a 28 Days Later sequel in the works from Danny Boyle and Alex Garland.

Fans of Oppenheimer have been highighting a small “disturbing” detail involving Florence Pugh’s character, Jean Tatlock, that many viewers missed the first time around.

Read The Independent’s full interview with Murphy and Nolan here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in