Florence Pugh, Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt star in one of the biggest films of the year

Oppenheimer already has people talking.

First of all, the upcoming Christopher Nolan-directed film is one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of the year. Second, its star cast has brought out the best talents in Hollywood. And third? It’s going head-to-head with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, with both (wildly different) movies releasing on the same day. So, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone, eh?

Of course, Oppenheimer is an upcoming biographical film that is centred on the life of physicist J Robert Oppenheimer and his contributions to the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb.

The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2005 biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The authors spent a staggering 25 years researching and writing the book.

Oppenheimer will see Peaky Blinders‘ star Cillian Murphy takes on the titular lead, also known as the “father of the atomic bomb”. So, with such high expectations for the upcoming film, here’s everything you need to know before catching it in cinemas.

What is the plot of Oppenheimer?

As a biographical drama, Oppenheimer’s life will be explored through to his position as head of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, where his contributions to the Manhattan Project led to the development of the atomic bomb.

The film will be a stark reminder of the destruction of nuclear weapons. In real life, the atomic bomb was used by the United States to bomb Japan in the final year of World War II in 1945, tragically killing between 29,000 and 226,000 civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those are still the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war.