Christopher Nolan has become one of the most visionary filmmakers in the 21st century. With Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Knight trilogy and Oppenheimer under his belt, his phenomenal work has captured audiences from all walks of life.
The filmmaker is set to take on one of the oldest and most influential stories in Western literature: Homer’s The Odyssey. While fans are anticipating to see the epic journey take on the big screen, details of the film have remained under wraps. Here’s everything we know so far about Nolan’s upcoming epic.
What is The Odyssey?
The Odyssey is one of two major epic of Ancient Greek literature. It is one of the oldest surviving works and the original work is divided into 24 books. The story follows a heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus and his homecoming journey after the ten-year Trojan War. It takes him ten more years to travel from Troy to Ithaca and during that time, he encounters dangers which results in the majority of his crewmates being killed.
The story was first written in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC. It wasn’t converted to English until 1616 by English translator, George Chapman. Chapman worked on the translation for most of his life. To this day, it is often studied alongside Homer’s other epic, The Iliad and it has inspired countless adaptations such as films, novels and plays.
Casting: Who are set to be in the film?
Earlier this year, Universal shared the first official image of the film on X, with the caption: “Matt Damon is Odysseus. A film by Christopher Nolan.” The post confirmed that Damon is set to play the lead role.
Since this post, there have been additions to the cast, which includes: Anthony Molinari, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and many more.
Many of the roles of the cast have been hidden while many moviegoers have been speculating about who will be playing who on the internet.
Is there any footage available?
As of now, no official footage has been available to the public but the film was teased at this year’s CinemaCon. Universal Pictures’ distribution chief, Jim Orr, predicted that the film will be a “visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would quite likely be proud of.” The production budget is estimated to be about $250 million and it is expected to be the most expensive film of Nolan’s career.
This film is also the first large-scale production to be shot entirely using IMAX film cameras.
Filming Locations
According to Variety, the film will be partly filmed in Sicily, Italy. Shooting was set to begin in spring 2025 on the island of Favignana. These locations are important as in the epic poem, Odysseus wanders around these locations and Homer has visualized these moments in his story.
Other locations include the U.K., Morocco, Scotland and Ireland. The film is pretty much become a global shoot. In early May, filming was also taking place on a studio soundstage in Los Angeles.
Other Creatives Involved
While Nolan is writing and producing the film, he will be reunited with his longtime producing and life partner, Emma Thomas. Both Thomas and Nolan share the winnings for the Best Picture Oscar for Oppenheimer. Italy’s Wildside, a Fremantle company is set to serve the Sicily portion of the filming process.
Release Date
The Odyssey is scheduled to be released theatrically by Universal Pictures in the United States on July 17, 2026 in IMAX.
SOURCE: Variety
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