Christopher Nolan is nothing if not ambitious. After winning Best Picture and Best Director at the 2024 Academy Awards for Oppenheimer, Nolan announced via Universal Pictures that he planned to adapt The Odyssey for the big screen using “brand-new IMAX film technology.” Yes, reader, Nolan's next film is The Odyssey—you know, one of the most celebrated stories of all time. No pressure.
The production is reportedly Nolan’s most-expensive film to date, as he breaks from his typical science-fiction and historical storytelling to direct a fantasy adventure featuring monsters, witches, and gods. The director has yet to speak on the film, but Universal stated in a press release that the film is a "mythic action epic shot across the world."
Matt Damon is set to star as the Greek hero, Odysseus. He is the king of Ithaca, who struggles to return home after fighting the Trojan War in Troy for ten years. Damon is an unconventional choice for Odysseus, for sure, but we'll reserve judgement until we see it play out on screen. Elsewhere in the story, Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, is hounded by rowdy suitors begging her to remarry so that they can become the new king. Meanwhile, their son, Telemachus, sets out on his own journey to find his father and bring him home.
According to the latest rumour, Tom Holland will likely play Odysseus’s son, Telemachus. New images from set show the Spider-Man: No Way Home star on a voyage at sea while Nolan—wearing a tiny floatie—directs from behind. Other photos of Holland picture the actor in costume next to Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), as well as Ryan Hurst (The Walking Dead). Without question, the best photo of the bunch is the one of Nolan approaching a hooded, old man with a fancy wooden stick.
Check out the images below, but don’t read the comments on Damon’s photo unless you want to hear ad nauseam about how they are apparently using the wrong kind of helmet.
Though roles are still under wraps, The Odyssey’s cast list grows ever more impressive by the day. So far, the film is also set to feature Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, Bill Irwin, Cosmos Jarvis, and more. Filming is currently taking place in Morocco, the UK, and the Sicilian Island of Favignan.
The Odyssey is set for release in theatres next summer on July 17, 2026. Hopefully, audiences will see Peter Parker tortured by Mia Goth as some freaky sea-witch in no time.
