'Oppenheimer' trailer: Cillian Murphy stars in film about making of atomic bomb

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Universal Pictures is giving a glimpse of the new film Oppenheimer.

The studio shared a trailer for the biopic Sunday featuring Cillian Murphy as American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer is based on the Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin book American Prometheus. The film centers on Oppenheimer and his work on the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the first atomic bomb during World War II.

The new movie is written and directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) and also stars Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh and Josh Hartnett.

"We imagine a future and our imaginings horrify. They would fear it until they understand it, and they won't understand it until they've used it," Murphy says as Oppenheimer in the trailer.

"Theory will only take you so far. I don't know if we can be trusted with such a weapon but we have no choice," he adds.

Oppenheimer opens in theaters July 21, 2023.