What Is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey All About? Cast, First Look, Release Date And Everything You Need To Know

The buzz around Christopher Nolan’s next film hasn’t let up since casting news started trickling out. After the massive success of Oppenheimer, which finally snagged Nolan his long-overdue Oscar, people are practically foaming at the mouth to see what he does with The Odyssey.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: The Adaptation 

For anyone who dozed off during high school English, “The Odyssey” is Homer’s ancient Greek epic, split across 24 books and picking up after “The Iliad.” It’s the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, fighting to get home after the Trojan War.

His trip takes a solid decade, with disasters, monsters, dead friends, and a whole roster of gods and mortals: Telemachus, Penelope, Athena, Circe, Poseidon, Zeus—you know, the whole Mount Olympus crowd.

Scholars figure Homer wrote it sometime between 750 and 650 BC, though no one can agree on the exact date. The first printed Greek edition didn’t show up until 1488, but since then, “The Odyssey” has been adapted, spoofed, and studied to death. We’re talking everything from a silent film in 1911 to the Kirk Douglas “Ulysses” in 1954, all the way to the Coen brothers’ “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in 2000.

Christopher Nolan’s Version Of The Odyssey

First look? Universal posted the first official photo on X (yeah, it’s still Twitter to me), showing Matt Damon as Odysseus. The studio plastered the caption: “Matt Damon is Odysseus. A film by Christopher Nolan, #TheOdysseyMovie is in theaters July 17, 2026.” Right now, Damon’s the only confirmed role, and Universal’s keeping the rest of the casting cards close to their vest.

As for the latest cast news, Anthony Molinari (you might know him from “Barry”) just joined the project. He’s been in everything from “Abbott Elementary” to “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and he’s worked with Nolan before on “Tenet.” Fresh faces for this film also include Elliot Page (“Inception”), Himesh Patel (“Tenet”), Bill Irwin (“Interstellar”), and Samantha Morton (“Minority Report”). They’ll join a hefty lineup: Mia Goth, John Leguizamo, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, and a bunch of others.

Mia Goth’s been killing it in horror flicks like “MaXXXine” and “Pearl,” plus “Suspiria” and “Infinity Pool.” Leguizamo’s a veteran—Emmy-nominated, in everything from “Romeo + Juliet” to “John Wick.” Gavron popped up in “A Star is Born” with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and Fernandez has credits in “Evil Dead,” “Euphoria,” and “United States of Tara.”

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: The Cast Reveal

Now, Nolan’s not playing around with the rest of the cast, either. The confirmed list is stacked: Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, and Jon Bernthal. But aside from Damon’s role, who’s playing who? No one knows. Fans are left to guess for now.

A bunch of these actors have worked with Nolan before. Bill Irwin voiced TARS in “Interstellar.” Damon was in “Oppenheimer” and popped up in “Interstellar.” Pattinson starred in “Tenet.” Hathaway’s done the rounds too—she was in “Interstellar” and played Catwoman in “The Dark Knight Rises.” For Holland, Zendaya, Nyong’o, and Theron, it’s their first time working with Nolan. Fun fact: Holland and Zendaya, who are dating in real life, will be back together on screen for the first time since the “Spider-Man” movies.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: First Teaser Leaked

Sneak peek? Well, a 70-second teaser trailer leaked on TikTok and X during its theatre-only release, which probably made Nolan grind his teeth, considering how much he champions the big-screen experience. Don’t forget, he jumped ship from Warner Bros. to Universal after that whole HBO Max fiasco in 2021—he wasn’t thrilled about movies dropping online the same day as theaters.

So, that’s where we stand. Nolan’s “The Odyssey”—it’s coming, and it’s already shaping up to be one of the most watched projects in Hollywood.

The teaser kicks off with Matt Damon stepping into the role of Odysseus, while Tom Holland takes on Telemachus. Jon Bernthal shows up too—his character’s a mystery for now. The opening narration comes from a guy who sure sounds like Robert Pattinson, though his part hasn’t been revealed yet.

“Darkness. Zeus’ laws smashed to pieces. A kingdom without a king since my master died,” the voice says, layered over shots of a raging ocean. “He knew it was an unwinnable war, and then somehow…somehow he won it.”

Now, about the technical side: “The Odyssey” is breaking ground as the first feature ever shot entirely on Imax cameras. Nolan’s practically defined by Imax at this point—think “Oppenheimer,” “Dunkirk,” “Tenet,” “Interstellar.” That last one even got a big re-release for its tenth anniversary.

Behind the scenes, Nolan’s writing and producing, teaming up again with Emma Thomas, his producing partner and spouse—she just picked up a Best Picture Oscar for “Oppenheimer.” The Sicily shoot is getting a hand from Wildside, which is part of Fremantle.

As for whether this take on “The Odyssey” will stick close to Homer’s original, that’s still anyone’s guess. Universal’s only hint so far is that it’s going to be “a mythic action epic shot across the world.”

When Is The Odyssey Releasing? 

Release-wise, mark your calendars for July 17, 2026. That’s when “The Odyssey” is hitting theatres worldwide, following a planned production start in 2025. That release window—mid-July—lines up with several of Nolan’s biggest hits, including “Oppenheimer,” “Dunkirk,” “Inception,” and “The Dark Knight.”

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