The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer has added Academy Award-nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow; Hawkeye), Academy Award-winner Rami Malek (No Time to Die; Mr. Robot), and Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems; Good Time) in key roles.
The trio join an already star-studded cast that will feature Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight trilogy; Peaky Blinders) in the title role as scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, with 2x BAFTA Film Award-nominee Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow; A Quiet Place) playing his wife Katherine.
Academy Award-winner Matt Damon (Jason Bourne; The Martian) signed on to play the director of the Manhattan Project, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, and 2x Academy Award-nominee Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man; Avengers: Endgame) is on board to portray Lewis Strauss.
According to THR, Pugh has been tapped to play Jean Tatlock, "a member of the Communist Party of the United States who has an off-and-on affair with Oppenheimer and was the cause of major security concerns for government officials.," while Safdie will play Edward Teller, "the Hungarian physicist who is known as the father of the hydrogen bomb and a member of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. research initiative that developed the first atomic bomb."
As for Malek, it's said he'll be playing a scientist, but no further details were provided.
An early synopsis for the film from distributor Universal describes the film as an “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.”
Oppenheimer is currently scheduled to open exclusively in theaters on July 21, 2023.