Summary
Cillian Murphyis backing up his Oscar win forOppenheimerwith a career direction actors don’t often take immediately after scoring an Academy Award. Murphy was the central figure inOppenheimer’smassive global success, featuring in its lead as the American physicist and “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer. The epic biographical drama was a triumph on account of many, including big-name writer, director, and producer Christopher Nolan andOppenheimer’sstar-studded cast. Still, Murphy’s engrossing and phenomenal lead performance was an essential extra edge that helped makeOppenheimera nearly $1 billion box office success.
Among dozens of critical award nominations and wins,Murphy secured an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for hisOppenheimereffort. The achievement was particularly noteworthy for the 48-year-old Irish actor, as it marked the first Oscar nomination and win of his career. Because of this - and because, generally, actors seem to accept more high-reward opportunities after a big win - it’s easy to presume that Murphy would seek out another movie worthy of an Oscar. However, Murphy is making an unexpected career pivot the world of cinema doesn’t often get to enjoy.
Oppenheimer’s Multi-Oscar Success Puts Cillian Murphy In A Very Exclusive Actor Club
Oppenheimer’s multiple Oscar wins are good news for Christopher Nolan’s biopic and actor Cillian Murphy, and they put the latter in an exclusive club.
Cillian Murphy’s 2 Big Movie Returns Break An Unwritten Rule For Oscar Winners
Murphy Is Set To Reprise Old Roles In New 28 Days Later And Peaky Blinders Movies
Instead of chasing more traditional post-Oscar routes, Murphy will return to film with unexpected role reprisals.
Actors will commonly pursue another Oscar-worthy endeavoror be tapped to front a massive film franchise after winning an Academy Award. Think, Emma Stone, who followed her Oscar win for 2016’sLa La Landwith an Oscar-nominated performance inThe Favoriteand, later, an Oscar-winning performance inPoor Things; or Eddie Redmayne, who gave an Oscar-nominated performance inThe Danish Girland fronted the billion-dollarFantastic Beastsfranchise after winning an Oscar for 2014’sThe Theory of Everything. Instead of chasing more traditional post-Oscar routes, Murphy will return to film with unexpected role reprisals.
To the delight of many,Murphy is reprising his roles as Jim from the post-apocalyptic thriller28 Days Laterand Tommy Shelby from the British period crime drama seriesPeaky Blindersfor two forthcoming movies. It’s not as if his venture intothe28 Days Latersequel, tentatively titled28 Years Later, and the firstPeaky Blinderstheatrical filmwould be unfit for high awards. However, in these instances, the actor’s intention seems to be geared more toward his interest in reviving the characters and their stories than to wait for a role more likely to guarantee his second Oscar.
Why Cillian Murphy’s 28 Years Later & Peaky Blinders Movies Are So Exciting
Both Movies Have Bigger Budgets and Big Potential
Regardless of their Oscar likelihood, the28 Days Latersequel, which will become an extended sequel series, and thePeaky Blindersfilm are markedly exciting for fans of their respective IPs. Their potential to become well-regarded movies is presumably inevitable, asthey both have overarching stories to address and will have bigger budgets than ever to fulfill them. Whereas precursor films28 Days Laterand28 Weeks Laterhad budgets of $15 million or less,28 Years Laterwill reportedly have a budget in the $75 million range (viaThe Guardian).
Similarly, thePeaky Blindersmovie will receive a major financial upgrade, according to aPeaky Blindersupdate from creator Steven Knight, who ensured the film would be much bigger than the TV series in budget and scale. With more considerable budgets,28 Years Laterand thePeaky Blindersmovie can provide grand cinematic experiences to their IPs' otherwise unfinished stories. For28 Years Later,the opportunity could present as an arresting post-apocalyptic simulation to address the unrestrained rage virus. ForPeaky Blinders, the opportunity could mean tying up loose ends afterPeaky Blinders’finalein a much more spectacular fashion.
Other Upcoming Movies Cillian Murphy Will Appear In
Murphy Has Two Book-To-Movie Adaptations On His Radar
On top of his highly anticipated role reprisals, Murphy also has a few other exciting film endeavors on his radar.The actor will join forces with previousPeaky Blindersdirector Tim Mielants for the book-to-movie adaptation,Steve, of which Murphy will serve as a producer and lead actor.Steve’sscreenplay is adapted from Max Porter’s novelShy, which follows a headteacher who manages a home for troubled young men.
Production forStevestarted in the Spring of this year (perDeadline).
Cillian Murphy’s Next Movie Is Continuing His Biggest Career Trend
An exciting new movie starring Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy has been announced, and it’s consistent with his most common recent career trend.
Murphy also stars in and producedthe book-to-film adaptation of Claire Keegan’s bestselling historical fiction novel,Small Things Like These.Despite not having a theatrical release date yet,Small Things Like Thesepremiered this year at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival to rave reviews, and it currently holds an 83% critics score onRotten Tomatoes, raising anticipation for its eventual release. Granted, off the back of his incredibleOppenheimerperformance, all ofCillian Murphy’supcoming releases have a unique appeal, causing audiences to stand by to see if they will weigh up to something just as great.
Oppenheimer
Cast
Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
28 Years Later
28 Years Later follows a group of survivors living on an isolated island nearly three decades after the rage virus outbreak. Venturing into the quarantine zone of the mainland, they uncover dangerous secrets and transformations among both the infected and other surviving factions.
