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Chirstopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey unveils an epic trailer
After the success of Oppenheimer, director Christopher Nolan is now shooting The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Tom Holland. Numéro shares the latest news about this adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.
By Violaine Schütz,
and The Editorial Team.
Published on 17 November 2025. Updated on 6 May 2026.
The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s new feature
Two years after the resounding success of Oppenheimer, the explosive biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is taking on another monumental project: Homer’s Odyssey. This ancient Greek epic, written by the end of the 8th century BC, recounts Odysseus’s long journey back to his island of Ithaca after the Trojan War. It takes him ten years to return home and reunite with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. This cornerstone of literature has already inspired several screen adaptations. The most recent, The Return, starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, was released in 2025.
Described as an epic, mythical action movie shot around the globe, The Odyssey is quite intriguing. For a time, rumours had it that Nolan’s next project would be a historical, horro vampire film set in the 1920s, according to the media Gizmodo.
Others speculated it would be a sci-fi spy thriller focused on a father and son. Ultimately, the Homer adaptation, slated for US release on July 17th, 2026, appears closer to Gladiator II than Nosferatu. Part of the shoot took place on the island of Favignana, off the Sicilian coast.
An exceptional cast with Matt Damon, Zendaya and Anne Hathaway
To bring this mythological tale to the screen, titled The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan has gathered an exceptional cast. Matt Damon takes on the leading role as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. Opposite him, Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home) will play his son Telemachus, while Anne Hathaway steps into the role of his wife, Penelope.
Now, we know that the goddess Athena will be portrayed by Zendaya and that Circe will be played by Charlize Theron. As for director Benny Safdie, il will embody Agamemnon.
Travis Scott will make an appearance
Even more exciting, Robert Pattinson (as Antinous, son of Eupithes), Mia Goth (as Melantho), Jon Bernthal (as Menelaus), Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel (as Eurylochus), and John Leguizamo (as Eumaeus) round out this impressive cast. According to a trailer broadcast on American television in January 2026, rapper Travis Scott will play a minor role in the project.
Loyal, Christopher Nolan often collaborates with the same actors. He directed Matt Damon in Interstellar (2014) and Oppenheimer (2023), Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Interstellar, and of course, Robert Pattinson in the sci-fi thriller Tenet (2020).
60,000 meters of film
The first trailer came out on December 22nd, 2025. The Odyssey is the first film to be shot entirely in IMAX, using 70mm cameras and real-world locations to avoid digital effects as much as possible. According to Empire magazine, Christopher Nolan shot the film in 91 days, which amounts to 60,000 meters of film. The process, described by the director as “almost primal,” included scenes filmed at sea.
“I’ve been out on it for the last four months. We got the cast who play the crew of Odysseus’ ship out there on the real waves, in the real places. And yeah, it’s vast and terrifying and wonderful and benevolent, as the conditions shift. We really wanted to capture how hard those journeys would have been for people. And the leap of faith that was being made in an unmapped, uncharted world,” the director explained.
Another global hit in the making for Universal?
The Odyssey marks a new $250 million venture between director Christopher Nolan and Universal Pictures. As a reminder, back in 2021, after twenty years of loyal service with Warner Bros., the filmmaker parted ways with the studio and signed on with its rival, Universal.
The decision followed a controversy sparked by Warner Bros. in December 2020, when the company announced that its upcoming films would be released simultaneously in theatres and on the streaming platform HBO Max.
This strategy came at a high cost for the American studios, including Disney, which was sued by Scarlett Johansson. The actress took legal action after Black Widow was made available on Disney+ the same day it hit cinemas, with the studio failing to respect the contractual obligations.
As for Christopher Nolan, he refuses to have his projects released on the small screen. According to Universal via The Hollywood Reporter, the director is one of the rare names “capable of delivering blockbusters based on original ideas, without relying on existing franchises.” Just like Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy, which proved extremely lucrative for the studio. The film grossed $950 million in 2023 and went on to win seven Oscars in 2024, including Best Director and Best Picture.
This partnership between the Tenet filmmaker and Universal once again highlights how fiercely Hollywood remains committed to theatrical releases. It also comes at a time when studios have begun stopping their policies on simultaneous cinema and streaming premieres. Old-school Hollywood may have won a battle, but will it win the war?
The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan, coming out in theatres on July 15th, 2026.
