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The Odyssey: First look at Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film
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. The film is scheduled for release in July 2026. Here’s everything we know about this adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.
By Violaine Schütz,
and The Editorial Team.
The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s new feature
Two years after the thunderous success of Oppenheimer, the explosive biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is tackling a 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 across the globe, The Odyssey is quite intriguing. For a time, rumours had it that Nolan’s next project would be a vampire film – historical and horror-tinged – 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 starring 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.
We now know that the goddess Athena will be portrayed by Zendaya, and the sorceress Circe by Charlize Theron. Meanwhile, Lupita Nyong’o and Benny Safdie will play the royal couple of Mycenae, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Even more exciting, Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, and John Leguizamo might round out this impressive cast, according to Variety.
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 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 17th, 2026, in the United States.
