Nolan began writingThe Odyssey in March 2024, secured the project withUniversal Pictures by October, and the film was announced in December. Casting occurred from late 2024 through early 2025, and Damon was confirmed for the lead role in February 2025. Nolan drew inspiration from the films of special effects artistRay Harryhausen and chose to depict a realistic interpretation ofGreek mythology. Filming took place from February to August 2025 across multiple international locations throughout Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, andWestern Sahara. With an estimated budget of $250 million, the film is the most expensive ofNolan's career and his first to be shot entirely onIMAX's70 mm film cameras. The costume designs sparked significant discussions about historical inaccuracies leading up to the film's release.
The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 17, 2026.
The Odyssey followsOdysseus, the legendaryGreek king ofIthaca, on his long and perilous journey home following theTrojan War, chronicling his encounters with mythical beings such as the CyclopsPolyphemus,sirens, and the witch-goddessCirce, while attempting to reunite with his wife,Penelope.[2]
Matt Damon asOdysseus: The legendaryGreek king ofIthaca.[3] DirectorChristopher Nolan described Odysseus as complicated, "an amazing strategist, [and] a very wily person". He was interested in his cleverness and inventiveness, particularly citing Odysseus's characterization inthe 2017 translation of theOdyssey by British-American classicistEmily Wilson.[4] To prepare for the role, Damon underwent an extensive training regimen and a strict diet to become "lean but strong", which included no longer consuming gluten and reducing his weight to 167 pounds (76 kilograms).[5] He also grew a full beard for a year, after Nolan declined to use artificial facial hair because he wanted to capture "the physicality of real hair".[6][5]
By November 2023, directorChristopher Nolan had yet to decide what his next film would be afterOppenheimer (2023). While he was receptive to various ideas for his follow-up, the director felt he would have to "own it completely".[26] After winning theAcademy Awards forBest Picture andBest Director forOppenheimer in March 2024, Nolan began writing the script for his next film.[27][28] In May 2024, Nolan's wife and producing partner,Emma Thomas, said that followingOppenheimer's success, the duo felt they had an opportunity to explore unlimited possibilities but had yet to deliberate practicalities.[26] Nolan was revealed in October to be developing his next film atUniversal Pictures, after working with that studio onOppenheimer. Nolan was confirmed to be writing the script and producing the film once again with Thomas through their production company,Syncopy.Matt Damon was in talks to star in the film, after collaborating with Nolan onOppenheimer andInterstellar (2014), and filming was slated to begin in early 2025. UnlikeOppenheimer, which Universal acquired at auction, this film was set up directly at the studio and given a release date of July 17, 2026.[29][30]
The film'slogline and additional details of its premise were kept largely secretive compared to Nolan's previous films, which prompted much speculation about its subject matter.[31][32] This included rumors that it would either be a vampireperiod piece, areboot of the 1983 helicopter action-thriller filmBlue Thunder,[33][31][32] or an adaptation of the British spy television seriesThe Prisoner (1967–68), which Nolan was previously attached to in 2009,[27][29] but all of these were debunked.[31][32][29] Nolan later reflected that the "disadvantage of never telling people what we're doing" was the invention and circulation of rumors, but he also enjoyed them.[33] Damon was confirmed to star later in October whenTom Holland was cast.[34] Previous Nolan collaboratorsAnne Hathaway—who starred inThe Dark Knight Rises (2012) andInterstellar—andRobert Pattinson, who starred inTenet (2020), joined the cast in November,[35][31] alongsideZendaya,[35]Lupita Nyong'o,[10] andCharlize Theron.[32] Damon, Holland, Hathaway, and Pattinson were all set for lead roles in the film, with Nyong'o and Zendaya having supporting roles.[31]
In December 2024, Universal announced Nolan's new film asThe Odyssey, an adaptation ofHomer'sancient Greekepic poem theOdyssey. The studio described the film as a "mythic action epic" that would be filmed worldwide.[2][36] Nolan was previously attached to direct the filmTroy (2004)—based on Homer'sOdyssey predecessor theIliad—thatWolfgang Petersen had developed forWarner Bros. Pictures, before Petersen chose to directTroy instead of a plannedBatman vs.Superman film, and Nolan subsequently madeBatman Begins (2005).[37][38][39]The Odyssey was expected to have a $250 million budget, which would make it the most expensive film ofNolan's career.[40][1] Nolan and Thomas describedThe Odyssey as "foundational" because it incorporates aspects of the horror,mystery, romance, and thriller genres of stories.[8]: 59 [41] Nolan sought to elevate his work and experience withThe Odyssey and drew inspiration from variousGreek mythology–inspired films he watched growing up, particularly the works of animator and special effects artistRay Harryhausen.[41] Production designerRuth De Jong and costume designerEllen Mirojnick returned to work with Nolan fromOppenheimer.[42][43] To combine theOdyssey's fantastical elements with Nolan's use of "tactile realism", the director chose to take a realistic approach in depicting the evidence and actions of the gods through natural phenomena that were once considered "supernatural" during the story's time period. Nolan called this a "big breakthrough creatively".[8]: 59
"I remember seeing a school play of [theOdyssey] when I was five or six years old. The older kids were doing it. I rememberthe 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 theOdyssey.Emma [Thomas] said it best when we first announced the project: it's foundational."
— Christopher Nolan on his early interest in theOdyssey and how it influenced his previous films[8]: 50
Principal photography lasted for 91 days between February 25 and August 8, 2025,[41][50][51] andwrapped nine days ahead of schedule.[8]: 56 Location shooting took place across five countries: Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, and Scotland.[52]Hoyte van Hoytema reunited with Nolan as cinematographer.[3] After usingIMAX 70 mm film extensively sinceThe Dark Knight (2008),The Odyssey is Nolan's first film to be shot entirely withIMAX film cameras, using a newly developed lighter and quieter version along with existing technology.[36][53][54] Over 2 million feet (610 kilometres) of IMAX 70 mm film was used to shootThe Odyssey.[41] The production used theworking titleCharlie's Tale.[55] Nolan sought to embrace the "physicality of the real world" by filming on location to help inform the storytelling and 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 felt the shifting weather conditions amplified this practical approach because of the challenges it posed.[41]
By March 27, the production moved to theAegadian Islands in Sicily, Italy, to film on the island ofFavignana, believed to be the location known as the "goat island" in the poem.[64][42] Water-borne filming subsequently took place from April 15 to May 15 throughout theAeolian Islands for scenes featuring the mythological island ofAeolia, occurring along the islands ofLipari,Basiluzzo, andVulcano. Filming in these regions was subject to certain safeguarding restrictions fromlocal ordinances.[65][64] For the maritime sequences, the production used the largest modernVikinglongship, theDraken Harald Hårfagre, which doubled as an ancient Greek warship that the actors portraying Odysseus's crew commanded.[8]: 55 [41][66] Nolan described filming at sea as a particularly primal experience.[41] Halfway through shooting by early May, filming occurred in Los Angeles on the film's only set constructed on a studiosound stage,[8]: 55 [67] before shooting atFindlater Castle inMoray,Scotland, in early June.[68] For ten days between the middle and end of June, the production partnered withTruenorth and relocated to remote regions ofIceland, including the harbourLandeyjahöfn, theHjörleifshöfði mountain, the riverMarkarfljót, and theSnæfellsnes peninsula,[22][55] primarily to shoot scenes on theirblack sand beaches for theGreek underworld of Hades,[8]: 55 [52] before returning to Scotland for scenes at theBuckie Harbour fishing port along theMoray Firth coast and at the secluded Sunnyside Beach nearCullen, Moray.[69][66] Filming took place in theCulbin Forest from July 3 to 16, before returning to Findlater Castle through July 25,[69] with Theron filming her scenes asCirce during the last two weeks in July.[11]
Filming took place for four days between July 17 and 22, with Damon and Zendaya, at the White Dune nearDakhla, Western Sahara,[70][56][71][72] a city underMoroccan occupation since 1975.[73][72][58] The UN-recognizedPolisario Front and organizers of theSahara International Film Festival decried the decision to film in Western Sahara aswhitewashing Morocco's colonialism.[57][71] The festival's organizers called for the production to be halted, but filming in the territory had already concluded at that time.[72][71] They subsequently released a statement calling on Nolan to obtain consent from "the legal representatives of theSahrawi people" or otherwise remove the scenes shot in Dakhla. This statement was signed by several prominent figures, including Spanish actorsCarlos andJavier Bardem,Luis Tosar,Carolina Yuste, andJuan Diego Botto, Spanish filmmakersRodrigo Sorogoyen andIcíar Bollaín, and Sahrawi human rights defenderElghalia Djimi.[74][75][76] Meanwhile, theMoroccan Cinematographic Center calledThe 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.[57][58] Filming also took place inMalta before concluding back in Los Angeles.[51] Some filming was also expected to occur in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[64][21]
A promotional image of starMatt Damon in costume asOdysseus was noted for the historical inaccuracies in its design.[81]
Universal Pictures released a "surprise" first-look still image of Damon in costume as Odysseus in the middle of February 2025.[3] Writing forPeople, Jen Juneau labeled Damon's side-profile pose "brooding" and "intimidating",[82] while Christopher Marc ofThe Playlist praised the image as "tantalizing". He expected that Nolan would use more digital effects than in his previous films due to theOdyssey's fantastical aspects.[83] Various commentators and historians described the costume Damon wore—particularly itsCorinthian helmet with a redplume—as historically inaccurate, both in terms of the armor Odysseus would have worn around the time theOdyssey takes place and of what is described in theIliad.[81]/Film's Jeremy Mathai noted the "version of ancient Greek attire popularized by countless movies over the decades" and said that, while the image did not provide much insight into the tone or Nolan's approach to the story and source material, he was excited for it.[84] Writing forDen of Geek, Joe George also acknowledged the costume's historical inaccuracies, but felt Nolan was paying homage to "classic Hollywood" films from his childhood, such asThe 300 Spartans (1962) andJason and the Argonauts (1963), as well as the latter's stop-motion visual effects work by animatorRay Harryhausen. He stated that while Nolan's "decision to veer towards old Hollywood instead of historical accuracy might surprise some", the director similarly incorporated aspects of films that influenced him in his previous works while still making them "feel original and of the moment".[85]
A 70-second-long teaser trailer forThe Odyssey featuring Holland's Telemachus and Bernthal's Menelaus debuted exclusively in movie theaters ahead of screenings for Universal'sJurassic World Rebirth upon its release in July 2025, one year beforeThe Odyssey's release;[7][86] the teaser was leaked online soon after.[1][86]Vanity Fair's Eléa Guilleminault-Bauer described the short teaser as previewingThe Odyssey "through suggestion and cleverly elliptical editing",[87] while Hannah Hunt atCollider highlighted the final scene of the teaser featuring Damon's Odysseus, unconscious and drifting in the ocean, and its thematic implications.[88] Greg Evans atThe Independent wrote that the leaked trailer sent some fans "into a frenzy" due to its high anticipation,[89] which Ryan Britt ofMen'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.[90]/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.[91] Less enthusiastic reactions came from Erik Kain ofForbes and Esther Zuckerman atThe New York Times, who both disliked the American accents of British actors for Greek characters. Kain was concerned about the "muted" aesthetic and "drained" color grading, but compared it more favorably to directorRidley Scott's filmGladiator II (2024), while Zuckerman felt the teaser was "coy about revealing too much of Nolan's take on Homer's saga".[92][93]
An extended six-minute prologue debuted on December 12, 2025, in front of IMAX 70 mm screenings of re-releases forWarner Bros. Pictures's 2025 filmsOne Battle After Another andSinners, followed byAvatar: Fire and Ash upon its release on December 19.[94]Variety's Daniel D'Addario described the prologue, which depicts Odysseus and his men using theTrojan Horse at the end of the legendaryTrojan War, as a "carefully wrought story" that "play[ed] like a grand-scale epic" within the wider film, comparing the prologue to the Trojan Horse itself. He felt Nolan had not "lost his touch with delicately intercutting between various developments — the chaos of the warfare against the precision of the gears gradually turning in the Trojan wall's door — or for granular character detail in the midst of the spectacle".[95] Writing forThe Daily Telegraph, Tim Robey stated that the "immediacy of this sequence as a race against time is very Nolan" and compared the "stifling claustrophobia" of being inside the Trojan Horse to sequences of capsized ships in Nolan's filmDunkirk (2017). He called the prologue "an out-of-the-blue experience for many" that "bodes very promisingly for a take on [the] Homeric epic that's gritty, gruelling, and aptly awe-inspiring", while praising Göransson's "nerve-racking crescendo" increasing throughout the scene. Conversely, Robey felt the footage did not "stack up against" the "total knockout" bank heist IMAX prologue forThe Dark Knight.[12] Tom Bacon atComicBook.com commended Nolan's "phenomenal ability to portray a sense of scale" and the cinematography of the scenes, which he called "breathtaking". He declared that the "stunning" sequences would makeThe Odyssey "one of the most beautiful films of 2026".[96] JournalistJeff Sneider similarly praised the footage as "incredible", highlighting Göransson's intense score "ramping up" and van Hoytema "tak[ing] advantage of stunning shadows".[97]
A shorter yet full-length teaser trailer debuted ahead of standardFire and Ash showings,[94] and was released online on December 22, 2025.[98] Several commentators expressed enthusiasm forThe Odyssey based on the two-minute trailer and highlighted the scope of Homer's epic being depicted.[99][100][101]IndieWire's Kate Erbland emphasized that the trailer "leans on the inherent drama and pain of the titular odyssey, including a few chilling deaths and a closer look at the leadership on display by our primary hero."[99] Mireia Mullor and Nick Staniforth ofTotal Film noted that, while some footage from the prologue was used, the trailer was an extended preview of the film compared to previous promotional material.[100] Soumya Srivastava wrote for theHindustan Times that the trailer provided "tiny, mostly ambient sneak peeks into the story",[102] whileEmpire's Ben Travis was impressed by the "tantalising glimpse" and pointed out the trailer's focus on the "wet and wild photography" and the Trojan Horse rather than featuring the supporting cast members—Pattinson, Zendaya, Nyong'o, and Theron—who had been excluded from previous footage released.[101] Edward Segarra atUSA Today called the trailer montage "suspenseful" and dubbed Odysseus and Hathaway's Penelope "star-crossed lovers" likeRomeo andJuliet,[98] while Fran Hoepfner ofVulture described their relationship as "one of the most Nolan-bait couples ever" by highlighting Odysseus's attempts to return home to his family.[103] Conversely, Aimee Hart atPolygon expressed dissatisfaction with the trailer's low online compression, which she felt indicated why Nolan had it debut in theaters.[104] Ryan Britt atInverse acknowledged that some online commenters' reactions to the trailers being "boring" were justified, stating that the story's more fantastical adventure aspects were reserved for a theatrical experience.[105] Some Greek publications noted further historical inaccuracies with the armor and ships depicted,[52] whichCollider's Julio Bardini felt were not fair and said that Nolan was allowed some creative liberties with his adaptation.[106]Gizmodo's Germain Lussier said that a teaser poster released at that time, which featured a goldenbackbone on Odysseus's helmet, was a "striking contrast" to the first-look image. He pondered interpretations of the backbone related to Odysseus's strength and character, and felt it served as Nolan's response to criticisms of historical inaccuracies.[107] Entertainment data analytics firm WaveMetrix reported that the trailer accumulated 121.4 million global views within 24 hours acrossTikTok (27%),YouTube (26%),Facebook (21%),Instagram (18%), andX (formerly Twitter) (10%), making it the eighth most-viewed trailer of 2025. This surpassed the trailer views for Universal'sWicked: For Good (113 million) and more than doubled the views for the firstOppenheimer trailer during the same time period.[108]
Universal Pictures andNBC Sports, both owned byNBCUniversal, coordinated on an advertisement starring Damon to cross-promote the2026 Winter Olympics andThe Odyssey. A short promotional clip debuted during theJanuary 2026 NFL Wild Card playoffs, followed by the full teaser and a shorter version, respectively, airing during the Winter Olympics and theSuper Bowl LX pregame show.[109] New footage was included in a minute-long TV spot that aired on January 25, 2026, during theAFC Championship Game between theNew England Patriots and theDenver Broncos. This featured a monologue scene with Holland, Bernthal, and rapperTravis Scott, who previously contributed theTenet theme song "The Plan".[25]Vulture's Bethy Squires felt that Scott portraying abard was fitting because poems such as theOdyssey were historicallysung-and-rapped-through.[110] Frazier Tharpe atGQ questioned whether Scott had a prominent role or a "glorified cameo", and called his appearance a "craftily placed" surprise for viewers, especially considering the high viewership of the game duringa major North American winter storm.[111]
The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released byUniversal Pictures in the United States on July 17, 2026, inIMAX,[36]IMAX 70 mm film formats,[112] andpremium large formats (PLFs).[113] 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.[112] 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.[112][113]The Odyssey was ranked as the most anticipated film of 2026 byIMDb.[114]Variety predicted thatThe Odyssey would become the highest-grossing film of the year, in part based on the early ticket pre-sales,[115] whileTheWrap predicted that it could surpassThe Dark Knight andThe Dark Knight Rises to become Nolan's highest-grossing film.[116]
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