‘The Odyssey’: What to Know About Christopher Nolan’s Next Film, Plus Trailer

The PR juggernaut for Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey has commenced, and it's expected to be a global hit.

Matt Damon as Odysseus | Credit: Universal

Following his Oscar-winning feature film Oppenheimer (2024) which swept the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Score and more categories at the 96th annual Academy Awards, Nolan‘s next project is coming to fruition.

As one of the foundational poetic texts of Western literature, the story follows Odysseus, King of Ithaca on his dangerous journey home after the Trojan war. The ancient Greek epic illustrates a true hero’s journey as the titular figure faces Polyphemus the Cyclops, Sirens, the nymph Calypso and the witch goddess Circe in the treacherous oceans that separate him from his island home and wife Penelope, who unravels a wedding train that she weaves every night in the event that one of the suitors who have taken over her home ends up marrying her should her husband not return.

Deadline reports that Matt Damon was one of the first stars on the stacked roster of talent to be announced and will play the Greek hero; next came Tom Holland, the Spider-Man actor, who will portray Odysseus’ son Telemachus; followed by Holland's recent fiancée Zendaya, and then one of Nolan’s previous collaborators Anne Hathaway - who is to portray Odysseus’ wife Penelope. This list of star talent goes on and on.

“Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,” Universal announced. “The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.”

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.

Want to see the trailer? Here it is...