Oppenheimer's Latest Trailer Has Cillian Murphy Fans Excited For The Oscars

After releasing his most confusing sci-fi action thriller epic since "Inception" with "Tenet," director Christopher Nolan is now set to return to the world of historical wartime drama with "Oppenheimer." The film stars longtime Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb whose work on nuclear technology during the waning days of World War II forever changed the course of history and equipped humanity with the power to annihilate itself in a matter of minutes. And with the release of a new trailer, Murphy's fans are rooting for him to win an Oscar off the back of the project.

The second trailer for "Oppenheimer," which began screening ahead of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and other major movies on May 4, seems to capture the energy encapsulated in Oppenheimer's famous quote, "Behold, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." Said to have crossed the scientist's mind as he watched the first nuclear detonation in 1945, the quote has come to encapsulate the sheer, sublime terror of knowing you have unleashed a destructive force that can never itself be destroyed.

But the new trailer has fans hoping that something else can be destroyed: Nolan and Murphy's lack of an Oscar. Reactions were rife with comments such as that of YouTube user @bobbyricigliano2799, who wrote, "Genuinely think this might be Christopher Nolan's best film since Inception. Cillian Murphy better get award nominations for this because what he can do with his eyes alone is astounding."

Cillian Murphy's starring role in "Oppenheimer" is only the latest in a long string of collaborations between the actor and director Christopher Nolan. Murphy starred as the villain Scarecrow in Nolan's celebrated trilogy of Batman films from 2005 to 2012. In 2010's "Inception," he played a wealthy heir, the target of that movie's mental heist. And he had a role as a shell-shocked soldier in the director's first foray into WWII drama, 2017's "Dunkirk."

But "Oppenheimer" will be Murphy's first top billing in a Nolan picture, and fans of both Murphy and Nolan could not be more optimistic regarding how the movie will perform during awards season, despite its release being over two months away. Wrote @kh7688, whose comment was the most liked on the new "Oppenheimer" trailer, "Murphy has been loyal to Nolan for nearly two decades. It's about time he was given his own film. This might just be the film that gets both these men their respective Oscars. No more than they deserve. Can't wait for this."

Others think Murphy's work will help set a new high-water mark for the "Tenet" director, with @blee45 declaring, "Cillian Murphy is one of the greatest actors of this generation. If I knew nothing else about this film, I'd go see it on the strength of his talent alone."

Murphy leads a cast including Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Jack Quaid, and Rami Malek. Whether "Oppenheimer" lives up to the hype or (forgive the pun) bombs entirely remains to be seen when it arrives in theaters on July 7, 2023.