One of the highly anticipated films of next year is Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer, and it seems like every day we are getting more additions to this insane ensemble cast. Today is no different as, reported exclusively by Deadline, Army of The Dead’s Matthias Schweighöfer has joined the cast in an unknown role.
Schweighöfer joins a mind-blowing group of A-listers that include Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, and the recently added Josh Peck. Murphy is playing real life scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who ran the Manhattan Project and whose work led to the creation of the atomic bomb. The film itself is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The screenplay was adapted by Nolan and the famous director is producing the project with his long-time partner Emma Thomas. Universal won the film in a bidding war after the studio guaranteed it would have the previous standard 100-day release window. The film has an estimated budget of $100 million.
Schweighöfer was the breakout star last year in Zack Snyder’s Netflix zombie epic Army of the Dead. In that horror-action hybrid Schweighöfer played the comic relief safecracker Dieter. His performance was arguably the highlight of the film and was so good that he got his own spinoff movie Army of Thieves late last year. The star also directed that film. Schweighöfer will next be seen in the Netflix spy thriller Heart of Stone where he will star opposite Gal Gadot.
Oppenheimer, from the cast alone, is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing films of 2023, and it will be interesting to see what kind of character Schweighöfer will play. Right now he has been known for the more comedic roles, but maybe this film will be his opportunity to branch out. Whatever the case may be, in the few films audiences have seen him in, Schweighöfer has shown he has a great sense of timing and charisma. He is sure to bring that to this film no matter who he ends up playing.
It hilariously feels like Nolan has cast all of Hollywood in this film up to this point, and, with production now underway, it is hard to imagine who else could be in this film. Oppenheimer explodes its way into theaters on July 21, 2023. This is the usual date for a Nolan movie and just two weeks before the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima.