It looks like Cillian Murphy's busy year isn't slowing down anytime soon. Along with leading the star-studded Oppenheimer ensemble to numerous awards podiums the past few months—he already snagged the Golden Globe this January for his haunting performance as “father of the atomic bomb" J. Robert Oppenheimer—and fending off questions about whether he'll be returning for that recently-greenlit 28 Days Later sequel, the Irish actor has officially announced what's next for him following the blockbuster biopic.
As reported by Deadline, the 2024 Oscar nominee will next star in and, notably, produce the upcoming feature film Steve for Netflix. An adaptation of Max Porter’s 2023 novel Shy, the drama will follow Murphy's eponymous headteacher over the course of 24 hours as he struggles to deal with both his young students and his own mental health. A release date hasn't been announced just yet on the 2024 movie schedule, but production on Steve will reportedly begin this spring.
The film, which reunites Murphy with his Peaky Blinders director Tim Mielants, marks the official launch of Big Things Films, the independent production company started by Murphy and his longtime collaborator Alan Moloney.
And it's not the only title that Murphy's company has scooped up recently. Big Things Films is also behind the upcoming historical drama film Small Things like These, in which Murphy will also star as Bill Furlong, a devoted father in 1980s Ireland grappling with the chilling secrets of his small town and the Catholic Church.
The indie drama will also be directed by Mielants, with a script adapted by Murphy's frequent stage collaborator, playwright Enda Walsh, off the 2021 novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. Joining Cillian in the cast are fellow Irish performers Ciaran Hinds and Michelle Fairley, as well as English actress Emily Watson.
Small Things like These will have its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, marking the first time an Irish film has ever opened the world-famous fest.
Before the recent feature films, Murphy built up his producer muscles as an executive producer on three seasons of the fan-favorite gangster series,Peaky Blinders, which aired on the BBC from 2013 to 2022 and is available to stream with a Netflix subscription. It's unclear whether he will return to play Brummie gang leader Tommy Shelby in the upcoming Peaky movie spinoff, or at the very least produce behind-the-scenes, but it has been announced that he's set to return to one of his other best-known projects as a producer.
Having famously played Jim in Danny Boyle's modern zombie classic 28 Days Later, Murphy has signed on to executive produce the sequel, titled 28 Years Later. Whether he will reprise the role of Jim in the long-awaited horror sequel remains to be seen, but the actor has recently confirmed that he is "available" to get back into the fast-zombie fold.
While you wait for Steve, Small Things Like These and all of Murphy's other future projects to hit theaters, you can revisit his critically-acclaimed turn in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which will be available to stream with a Peacock subscription beginning on Friday, February 16.
