What we know about Nolan's 'The Odyssey'
After coming off the success of his historical-drama film Oppenheimer in 2023, renowned British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is adapting the seminal Greek epic, The Odyssey. And cinephiles might be pleased to learn that Nolan's The Odyssey is shaping up to be as real as a mythological story can get.
Leaked photos, which have been circulating across social media, show actor Tom Holland surrounded by the director and other crew members on a boat in Greece. Rumours speculate that Holland will be playing the protagonist's son, Telemachus.
In February, The Odyssey unveiled Matt Damon's first look as the eponymous hero, Odysseus. Damon was clad in a soldier's gear, complete with a Corinthian helmet. But he isn't the only star to have boarded the film.
Nolan, known for his star-studded lineups, will be leading a cast comprising Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Robert Pattinson, Ryan Hurst, and more. Given the little information available, fans have been theorising the roles that each actor might be playing.
"Christopher Nolan's next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer's foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theatres everywhere on July 17, 2026," Universal Pictures wrote on social media in December.
In January, Variety reported that The Odyssey was set to partly be filmed in Sicily, which scholars suggest was one of the locations that saw Odysseus' many travels in the original narrative. Nolan aimed to focus on Favignana, also known as "goat island", where Odysseus' crew docked to replenish their food storage. The utopian location is part of the Egadi archipelago off of Sicily's north-west coast.
Composed by Greek poet Homer around 8th century BCE, The Odyssey focuses on the events following those of its predecessor, The Iliad, primarily chronicling Odysseus' journey back home after a decade of bloodshed at the Trojan War. On his way, the Ithacan king clashes with monsters and deities who prolong his journey back to the island.
The epic poem also switches perspectives, lending parts to the queen and Odysseus' wife Penelope, who wards off suitors back in Ithaca as she awaits her husband's return, and the prince Telemachus, who vies for his claim to the unprotected throne. Embedded in Greek mythology, the poem also depicts divine intervention in the form of Odysseus' patron goddess and mentor, Athena, among others.
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