Cillian Murphy brilliantly ends Barbie vs Oppenheimer rivalry with his own admission

Cillian Murphy has expertly shut down the perceived rivalry between Barbie and Oppenheimer before either film has even hit the cinemas.

So, both of the movies come out on the same day and – from the looks of things – the pair couldn’t really be more different works.

One is a tale about a beloved character who dresses in pink all the time and finds herself out of her normal world, and the other is a partially black and white historical epic about one of the bleakest uses of science in human history.

See if you can guess which one is which from those potted synopses.

Anyway, come 21 July, both Greta Gerwig’s Barbie bonanza and Christopher Nolan’s historical epic about the birth of the atomic bomb will be in direct competition for the eyeballs of the world.

Warner Bros.

In the lead up, much has been made about which of the films will fare better with audiences, as well as the contrast between the people who will want to see either, both queuing up at the same Odeon on the same afternoon.

However, it seems that the star of one of the two competing titles isn’t too bothered about any of the rivalry.

Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist tasked with creating the nuclear bomb and ending World War Two, says that he’s actually well up for going to see Barbie.

When asked about the perceived competition by IGN, Murphy said: “I mean, I’ll be going to see Barbie, 100 per cent.

“I can’t wait to see it.

“I think it’s just great for the industry and for audiences, that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out on the same day.

“You can spend the whole day in the cinema – what’s better than that?”

There you have it.

Given the subject matter of Oppenheimer, you might be best off going to watch that first, before then immersing yourself in the colourful pink world of Barbie.

Universal Pictures

There’s a whole galaxy of stars involved in the two films, with Murphy joined by Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer.

While over in Barbie world, Margot Robbie takes on the main role alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken, as well as America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa, Emma Mackey, and – well – loads of other people.

Both are hotly-anticipated, and both are going to be big hits at the box office, so what does it really matter that they’re both completely different?

Actually, isn’t that better?

Barbie and Oppenheimer are both in cinemas worldwide on July 21.