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The Odyssey (2026 film)

Upcoming film by Christopher Nolan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Odyssey (2026 film)
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The Odyssey is an upcoming epic action fantasy film written, directed, and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. An adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem 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, 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 for distributor Universal Pictures.

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Following the successful release and awards campaign of the film Oppenheimer (2023), Nolan began writing his next film and was revealed in October 2024 to be reteaming with Universal for it. Casting took place in the following months, and the film was announced in December as an adaptation of the Odyssey. Filming took place from February to August 2025 throughout various regions worldwide, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, and Western Sahara. With an estimated production budget of $250 million, it is poised to be the most expensive film of Nolan's career and the first blockbuster to be shot entirely using 70 mm IMAX film cameras.

The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 17, 2026.

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Premise

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]

Cast

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Production

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Development and casting

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Writer and director Christopher Nolan reunited with Universal Pictures to develop The Odyssey as his follow-up to Oppenheimer

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.[7][8] Nolan was revealed in October to be developing his next film at Universal Pictures, after working with that studio on Oppenheimer. Nolan was once again writing the script and producing the film 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 in an auction, this film was directly set up at the studio.[9][10] 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. This included rumors that it would either be a vampire period piece, a helicopter action-thriller,[11][12] or an adaptation of the British spy television series The Prisoner (1967–68), which Nolan was previously attached to in 2009,[7][9] but all of these were debunked.[11][12][9] Damon was confirmed to star later that month when Tom Holland was cast.[13] 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,[14][11] alongside Zendaya,[14] Lupita Nyong'o,[15] and Charlize Theron.[12] Damon, Holland, Hathaway, and Pattinson were all set for lead roles in the film, with Nyong'o and Zendaya having supporting roles.[11]

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][16] Nolan was previously attached to direct the film Troy (2004), based on Homer's Odyssey predecessor the Iliad, but decided to make Batman Begins (2005) instead.[17][18] The Odyssey was expected to have a $250 million budget, which would make it the most expensive film of Nolan's career.[19][2] Further casting took place throughout early 2025, with prior Nolan collaborators Benny Safdie,[20] Josh Stewart,[21] Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin,[22] and Anthony Molinari joining.[23] Additional actors cast alongside them were Samantha Morton,[22] Jon Bernthal,[24] John Leguizamo,[25] Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee,[26] Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez,[27] Mia Goth,[28] Corey Hawkins,[29] Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte,[30] Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg,[31] and Ryan Hurst.[32] Skeet Ulrich said he unsuccessfully read for a role in the film in early February alongside two other actors.[33] Cosmo Jarvis had also been cast,[34] but dropped out shortly before filming began due to a scheduling conflict and was subsequently replaced by Logan Marshall-Green.[35]

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A promotional image of star Matt Damon in costume as Odysseus was noted for the historical inaccuracies in its design.[36]

Damon was confirmed to be portraying Odysseus when a "surprise" first-look image of him in costume was released in mid-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.[5] Various commentators and historians described the costume Damon wore as being historically inaccurate in terms of what armor Odysseus would have worn around the time that the Odyssey takes place and what is described in the Iliad.[36] Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick and composer Ludwig Göransson both signed on after working with Nolan on Oppenheimer.[37][38]

Filming

Principal photography began on February 25, 2025, at the Aït Benhaddou village in the city of Ouarzazate, Morocco,[39][4] to depict the city of Troy,[40] as well as in the cities of Essaouira and Marrakesh.[41][42] Hoyte van Hoytema reunited with Nolan as cinematographer,[4] shooting The Odyssey as the first blockbuster entirely with 70 mm IMAX film cameras, using a newly developed lighter and quieter version and existing technology.[16][43][44] 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.[45][46][47][48] The production partnered with Faliro House Productions's NAF subsidiary for filming in Greece,[47] which lasted for a total of three weeks and included a retroactive 40% cash rebate for the production.[49]

By March 27, the production moved to the Aegadian Islands in Sicily, Italy, for filming on the island of Favignana, which is believed to be a location known as the "goat island" in the poem.[50][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.[51][52][50] Filming occurred at a studio sound stage in Los Angeles by early May,[53] before shooting at Findlater Castle in Moray, Scotland, in early June.[54] The production relocated to remote regions of Iceland, including Landeyjahöfn, by the middle of the month until late June,[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,[56] with Theron filming her scenes as Circe during the last two weeks in July.[6]

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Some scenes were filmed at the White Dune near the Moroccan-occupied city of Dakhla, Western Sahara, which garnered some criticsim.

Filming took place for four days between July 17 and 22, with Damon and Zendaya, at the White Dune near Dakhla, Western Sahara,[57][40][58][59] a city under Moroccan occupation since 1975.[60][59][42] 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".[41][42][61] 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.[59][58] The organizers called for the production to be halted, but filming in the territory had already concluded at that time.[59][58] 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 the occupied territory.[41][42] 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 and brothers Javier Bardem and Carlos Bardem, Spanish actor Luis Tosar, Spanish actress Carolina Yuste, Argentine-Spanish actor Juan Diego Botto, Spanish filmmakers Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Icíar Bollaín, and Sahrawi human rights defender Elghalia Djimi.[62][63][64]

Filming also took place in Malta,[65] and was also expected to occur in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[50][23] The production subsequently returned to Los Angeles, where filming wrapped on August 8, 2025, after a six-month shoot.[65]

Post-production

DNEG is providing the film's visual effects, with Andrew Jackson serving as the visual effects supervisor.[1]

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Marketing

A 70-second-long teaser trailer for The Odyssey featuring Holland's Telemachus and Bernthal 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.[5][66] The teaser was expected to be released online later that year,[66] but was leaked online soon after.[2][66]

Release

The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures in the United States on July 17, 2026, in IMAX,[16] IMAX 70 mm film formats,[67] and premium large formats (PLFs).[68] 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.[67] 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.[67][68]

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References

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