Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is one of the most-anticipated releases of 2026, raising questions about the project. Christopher Nolan’s best movies include the superhero franchise masterpiece The Dark Knight, as well as 2023’s Best Picture Oscar-winner, Oppenheimer. Of all contemporary filmmakers, Nolan’s work is perhaps the most influential on modern blockbusters, and he’s at the peak of his fame and popularity coming off Oppenheimer’s unprecedented box office and awards season run.
The Odyssey’s cast is led by movie stars like Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, and many more, once again bringing an unbelievable cast of actors together for a massive, epic film. Nolan is becoming known for pooling his resources for large-scale event films, with The Odyssey’s pre-release IMAX tickets selling out a year in advance, demonstrating never-before-seen hype for a movie screening format. The film is intended to be shot entirely on 70mm IMAX, bringing pristine visual quality to one of the most important stories ever told.
‘The Odyssey’ is an Ancient Greek Epic Poem
The Odyssey is a foundational piece of storytelling, an epic poem commonly attributed to the Ancient Greek poet Homer. The ancient work of literature follows the titular hero and king, Odysseus, on his journey home from the Trojan War. To understand its story, one must first know the tale of that war. Troy was a city regarded in ancient literature for its esteemed wealth and power, along with impenetrable high walls, which allowed it to proudly resist the growing strength of the Ancient Greeks.
Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, had begun taking control of Ancient Greece through conquest, which involved his younger brother Menelaus’ marriage to the Spartan woman, Helen. Afterward, Helen fled from her husband with Prince Paris of Troy, leading to Agamemnon’s war against the Trojans. Agamemnon rallied heroes such as Odysseus, Ajax, and Achilles to help lead his conquest of Troy, sailing a massive fleet to war on the shores beneath the city. The tales of the Trojan War are told throughout many ancient works of Greek literature, but the most famous of which is Homer’s Iliad, which focuses on Achilles.
As mentioned, The Odyssey takes place after the ten-year war. Odysseus helped the Greeks claim victory through the legendary Trojan Horse, and now seeks only to return to his wife and son in the Kingdom of Ithaca. However, mortal and immortal threats prolong his journey as he travels, including the god Poseidon, the witch Circe, and the cyclops Polyphemus. Meanwhile, his wife, Penelope, fends off suitors who hope to claim her and Odysseus’s kingdom, believing him to be dead.
The Odyssey is a defining epic of the ages, and one of the most influential works of literature ever written. While much of the story is attributed to myth, historians have discovered a factual basis to suggest the existence of Troy, and the lines of history and folklore are often abstracted when referring to the Ancient Greeks, whose mythology has been tremendously impactful on world culture. This story is the root of many narrative archetypes and the general story arc structure of the hero’s journey that modern film fans may recognize from movies like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.
Why Christopher Nolan is Perfect For ‘The Odyssey’
The Odyssey has seen numerous cinematic adaptations, with some attempting to bring its story to life directly and others using its archetypal format for loose adaptations with contemporary or alternative settings. Christopher Nolan’s adaptation looks to be one of the most direct yet, with astounding resources at his disposal, filming at the most accurate locations possible in Greece, and not shying away from the length a story like this takes. With movies like Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight, Nolan has proved he’s willing to make an epic-length film, and studios will likely give him the go-ahead to make The Odyssey as a lengthy piece.
Christopher Nolan has incorporated many of his usual actors, with Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and more, returning to his set after previous films. While these actors might not be the first we think of as Ancient Greeks, fans trust Nolan to deliver a final product that’s both a Hollywood blockbuster and a period-faithful drama. Newcomers to Christopher Nolan’s filmography, such as Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron, also join the ensemble. Setting-wise, this story is unlike much of his previous work, but one similar aspect is time. The original poem is told non-linearly, an attribute that will remind fans of most of Nolan’s films. He loves to explore themes of time, and time is integral to The Odyssey.
- Release Date
-
July 17, 2026
- Producers
-
Emma Thomas
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
