| The Odyssey | |
|---|---|
| Teaser poster | |
| Directed by | Christopher Nolan |
| Screenplay by | Christopher Nolan |
| Based on | Homer's Odyssey |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Hoyte van Hoytema |
| Edited by | Jennifer Lame |
| Music by | Ludwig Göransson |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $250 million [2] |
The Odyssey is an upcoming epic action fantasy film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. An adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic the Odyssey , the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, and chronicles his long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope. The ensemble cast also features Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway (Penelope), Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal, among others. Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas produce the film through their production company, Syncopy.
Nolan began writing The Odyssey in March 2024, secured the project with Universal Pictures by October, and the film was announced in December. Casting occurred throughout late 2024, and Damon was confirmed for the lead role in February 2025. Principal photography took place from February to August 2025 across multiple international locations, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, and Western Sahara. With an estimated budget of $250 million, the film is the most expensive of Nolan's career and his first to be shot entirely on IMAX's 70 mm film cameras.
The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 17, 2026.
The Odyssey follows Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, on his long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War, chronicling his encounters with mythical beings such as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the witch-goddess Circe, while attempting to reunite with his wife, Penelope. [3]
Additional actors cast in undisclosed supporting roles are Benny Safdie, [10] Elliot Page, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, [11] Jesse Garcia, [12] Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, [13] Corey Hawkins, [14] Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, [15] Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg, [16] Josh Stewart, [17] Ryan Hurst, [18] Anthony Molinari, [19] Jovan Adepo, [20] Logan Marshall-Green, [21] and James Remar. [22]
After director Christopher Nolan won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for his film Oppenheimer (2023) in March 2024, he began writing the script for his next film. [23] [24] Nolan was revealed in October to be developing his next film at Universal Pictures, after working with that studio on Oppenheimer. Nolan was confirmed to be writing the script and producing the film once again with his wife, Emma Thomas, through their production company, Syncopy. Matt Damon was in talks to star in the film, after collaborating with Nolan on Oppenheimer and Interstellar (2014), and filming was slated to begin in early 2025. Unlike Oppenheimer, which Universal acquired at auction, this film was set up directly at the studio and given a July 17, 2026, release date. [25] [26]
The film's logline and additional details of its premise were kept largely secretive compared to Nolan's previous films, which prompted much speculation about its subject matter. [27] [28] This included rumors that it would either be a vampire period piece, a reboot of the 1983 helicopter action-thriller film Blue Thunder , [7] : 50 [27] [28] or an adaptation of the British spy television series The Prisoner (1967–68), which Nolan was previously attached to in 2009, [23] [25] but all of these were debunked. [27] [28] [25] Damon was confirmed to star later in October when Tom Holland was cast. [29] Previous Nolan collaborators Anne Hathaway—who starred in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Interstellar—and Robert Pattinson, who starred in Tenet (2020), joined the cast in November, [30] [27] alongside Zendaya, [30] Lupita Nyong'o, [8] and Charlize Theron. [28] Damon, Holland, Hathaway, and Pattinson were all set for lead roles in the film, with Nyong'o and Zendaya having supporting roles. [27]
In December 2024, Universal announced Nolan's new film as The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey , an Ancient Greek epic poem. The studio described the film as a "mythic action epic" that would be filmed worldwide. [3] [31] Nolan was previously attached to direct the film Troy (2004)—based on Homer's Odyssey predecessor the Iliad —that Wolfgang Petersen had developed for Warner Bros., before Petersen chose to direct Troy instead of a planned Batman vs. Superman film, and Nolan subsequently made Batman Begins (2005). [32] [33] [34] The Odyssey was expected to have a $250 million budget, which would make it the most expensive film of Nolan's career. [35] [2] Nolan and Thomas described The Odyssey as "foundational" because it incorporates aspects of the horror, mystery, romance, and thriller genres of stories. [7] : 59 [36] Nolan sought to elevate his work and experience with The Odyssey by various Greek mythology–inspired works he watched growing up, particularly the films of Ray Harryhausen. [36] Production designer Ruth De Jong and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick returned to work with Nolan from Oppenheimer. [37] [38]
"I remember seeing a school play of Ulysses [the Latin variant of Odysseus ] when I was five or six years old. The older kids were doing it. I remember the Sirens and him being strapped to the mast and things like that. I think it's in all of us, really. And when you start to break down the text and adapt it, you find that all of these other films – and all the films I've worked on – you know, they're all from the Odyssey. Emma [Thomas] said it best when we first announced the project: it's foundational."
Further casting took place throughout early 2025, with prior Nolan collaborators Benny Safdie, [10] Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, [11] Josh Stewart, [17] Anthony Molinari, [19] and James Remar joining. [22] Additional actors cast alongside them were Jon Bernthal, [39] John Leguizamo, [40] Samantha Morton, [11] Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, [12] Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, [13] Mia Goth, [41] Corey Hawkins, [14] Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, [15] Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg, [16] Ryan Hurst, [18] and Jovan Adepo. [20] Cosmo Jarvis had also been cast, [42] but dropped out shortly before filming began due to a scheduling conflict and was subsequently replaced by Logan Marshall-Green. [21] Skeet Ulrich said he unsuccessfully read for a role in the film in early February alongside two other actors. [43] Universal confirmed that Damon was portraying Odysseus in the middle of February, ahead of the start of filming later that month. This came after some rumors had circulated that Holland could be playing the role; [4] Holland was later confirmed to be portraying Odysseus's son, Telemachus. [6]
Principal photography lasted for 91 days from February 25 to August 8, 2025, [36] [44] [45] spanning various regions worldwide, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, and Scotland. [7] : 55 Hoyte van Hoytema reunited with Nolan as cinematographer. [4] After using IMAX 70 mm film extensively since The Dark Knight (2008), The Odyssey is Nolan's first film to be shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, using a newly developed lighter and quieter version along with existing technology. [31] [46] [47] Over 2 million feet (610 kilometres) of IMAX 70 mm film was used to shoot The Odyssey. [36] The production used the working title Charlie's Tale, [48] and wrapped nine days ahead of schedule. [7] : 56
The first scenes were filmed in late February at the Aït Benhaddou village in the city of Ouarzazate, Morocco, [44] [7] : 56–57 to depict the city of Troy at the end of the Trojan War in a " hors d'oeuvre " sequence before the bulk of The Odyssey, [7] : 56–57 [49] as well as in the cities of Essaouira and Marrakesh. [50] [51] Filming took place in the Messenia unit of the Peloponnese region in Greece, from March 10 to 21, at Pylos, the Methoni Castle, the Almyrolakkos beach in Yialova, and Nestor's Cave in the Voidokilia beach for scenes featuring the Cyclops Polyphemus, as well as at an archaeological palace site in Acrocorinth, Corinth. [52] [53] [54] [55] The production partnered with Faliro House Productions's NAF subsidiary for filming in Greece, [54] which lasted for a total of three weeks and included a retroactive 40% cash rebate for the production. [56]
By March 27, the production moved to the Aegadian Islands in Sicily, Italy, to film on the island of Favignana, believed to be the location known as the "goat island" in the poem. [57] [37] Water-borne filming subsequently took place from April 15 to May 15 throughout the Aeolian Islands for scenes featuring the mythological island of Aeolia, occurring along the islands of Lipari, Basiluzzo, and Vulcano. Filming in these regions was subject to certain safeguarding restrictions from local ordinances. [58] [57] For the maritime sequences, the production used the largest modern Viking longship, the Draken Harald Hårfagre , which the actors portraying Odysseus's crew commanded. [7] : 55 Halfway through shooting by early May, filming occurred in Los Angeles on the film's only set constructed on a studio sound stage, [7] : 55 [59] before shooting at Findlater Castle in Moray, Scotland, in early June. [60] For ten days between the middle and end of June, the production partnered with Truenorth and relocated to remote regions of Iceland, including the harbour Landeyjahöfn, the Hjörleifshöfði mountain, the river Markarfljót, and the Snæfellsnes peninsula, [20] [48] primarily to shoot scenes in the Greek underworld of Hades, [7] : 55 before returning to Scotland for scenes at Buckie Harbour and the secluded Sunnyside Beach near Cullen, Moray. Filming had taken place in the Culbin Forest from July 3 to 16, before returning to Findlater Castle through July 25, [61] with Theron filming her scenes as Circe during the last two weeks in July. [9]
Filming took place for four days between July 17 and 22, with Damon and Zendaya, at the White Dune near Dakhla, Western Sahara, [62] [49] [63] [64] a city under Moroccan occupation since 1975. [65] [64] [51] The Polisario Front—the United Nations–recognized representative of the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara—decried the decision to film in Western Sahara as "whitewashing [Morocco's] colonialism" and a "violation of international law and ethical standards governing cultural and artistic work". [50] [51] [66] Organizers of the Sahara International Film Festival criticized the decision to film in Western Sahara, stating that the production would "perhaps unknowingly and unwittingly" help whitewash Morocco's occupation of the territory and repression of the Sahrawis. [64] [63] The organizers called for the production to be halted, but filming in the territory had already concluded at that time. [64] [63] Meanwhile, the Moroccan Cinematographic Center called The Odyssey an important production to Morocco's promotion of its film industry and said that it was the first major American film to be filmed in that territory. [50] [51] The festival's organizers subsequently released a statement calling "on Nolan, Universal Pictures and others to publicly acknowledge it was wrong to film scenes in occupied Dakhla and to not edit them into The Odyssey, or else request consent from the legal representatives of the Sahrawi people, the rightful owners of the land where the film was shot." This statement was signed and supported by several prominent figures, including Spanish actors Carlos and Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar, Carolina Yuste, and Juan Diego Botto, Spanish filmmakers Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Icíar Bollaín, and Sahrawi human rights defender Elghalia Djimi. [67] [68] [69] Filming also took place in Malta before concluding back in Los Angeles. [45] Some filming was also expected to occur in the United Kingdom and Ireland. [57] [19]
In November 2025, several actors's roles were revealed, including Hathaway as Odysseus's wife Penelope; Zendaya as the goddess Athena; Pattinson as one of Penelope's suitors, Antinous; Bernthal as the Spartan king Menelaus; Leguizamo as Odysseus's servant Eumaeus; and Goth as Odysseus's and Penelope's maid, Melantho. [5] [7] : 50–55 DNEG is providing the film's visual effects, with Andrew Jackson serving as the visual effects supervisor. [1] Jennifer Lame is editing the film, while Ludwig Göransson is composing the musical score, after both worked with Nolan on Oppenheimer. [70] [71]
Universal Pictures released a "surprise" first-look image of Damon in costume as Odysseus in the middle of February 2025. [4] Various commentators and historians described the costume Damon wore as historically inaccurate, both in terms of the armor Odysseus would have worn around the time the Odyssey takes place and of what is described in the Iliad. [72] A 70-second-long teaser trailer for The Odyssey featuring Holland's Telemachus and Bernthal's Menelaus debuted exclusively in movie theaters ahead of screenings for Universal's Jurassic World Rebirth upon its release in July 2025, one year before the film's release. [6] [73] The teaser was expected to be released online later that year, [73] but was leaked online soon after. [2] [73]
Vanity Fair 's Eléa Guilleminault-Bauer described the short teaser as previewing The Odyssey "through suggestion and cleverly elliptical editing", [74] while Hannah Hunt at Collider highlighted the final scene of the teaser featuring Damon's Odysseus, unconscious and drifting in the ocean, and its thematic implications. [75] Greg Evans at The Independent wrote that the leaked trailer sent some fans "into a frenzy" due to its high anticipation, [76] which Ryan Britt of Men's Journal felt was warranted and described the teaser's "haunting nature" as promising "a myth actually brought to life". He highlighted Bernthal's "ominous" narration with a "touch of naturalism and realism", noting that Odysseus is talked about more than he is depicted in the teaser. [77] /Film 's Rick Stevenson wrote that the teaser continued Nolan's tradition of using an "often cryptic, vibes-first trailer, meant more to tease the mood of the film than to give away much in the way of plot or detail", but also found it to be "fairly substantive" compared to the similar teasers for some of Nolan's previous films. [78] Less enthused reactions came from Erik Kain of Forbes and Esther Zuckerman at The New York Times , who both disliked the American accents used by British actors for Greek characters. Kain was concerned about the "muted" aesthetic and "drained" color grading, but compared it more favorably to director Ridley Scott's film Gladiator II (2024), while Zuckerman felt the teaser was "coy about revealing too much of Nolan's take on Homer's saga". [79] [80]
The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures in the United States on July 17, 2026, in IMAX, [31] IMAX 70 mm film formats, [81] and premium large formats (PLFs). [82] Tickets for select IMAX 70 mm screenings were made available on July 17, 2025, one year before the film's release, which was considered an unprecedented move by a major film distributor. [81] Several of these showings sold out within the first 12 hours of their availability, including half of the 22 theaters available in the United States. [81] [82]