Ever since the opening bank heist prologue for The Dark Knight played before screenings of I Am Legend, Christopher Nolan has loved showing extended previews of his films before the big holiday IMAX movie. The opening of The Dark Knight Rises played by Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, while a sneak peek of Tenet played before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Now Nolan has released the first six minutes of The Odyssey, first before the limited IMAX re-releases of Sinners and One Battle After Another, and now exclusively before IMAX screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Despite being based on one of the most famous works of literature in history, Nolan’s The Odyssey has been rather secretive, with only a few details known. Yet after the six-minute prologue for The Odyssey, audiences certainly have a better idea of what to expect. The movie looks and sounds like classic Christopher Nolan, but it will also push the Academy Award-winning director outside his comfort zone into his first foray into mythic fantasy.
‘The Odyssey’s Trojan Horse Prologue
The Ancient Greek literature, The Odyssey, is fiction’s most famous sequel, a follow-up to The Iliad. The most famous cinematic telling of The Iliad is Wolfgang Petersen’s 2004 film Troy, which, funnily enough, was a consolation prize for the director after Warner Bros. scrapped his Batman vs. Superman. The original director of Troy was none other than Christopher Nolan, who then moved on to direct Batman Begins, the Batman film that replaced Petersen’s team-up film.
The prologue to The Odyssey movie is essentially a retelling of the climax of the Iliad, as the Trojan Horse is brought into Troy as a gift and, under cover of night, the Greek army emerges from the horse and begins a siege from within the walls. It was expected that The Odyssey would feature elements from the Iliad, given that The Odyssey‘s story follows Odysseus’ journey home after the invasion of Troy. Nolan has clearly found his own interpretation of the event, emphasizing his grounded tactical approach. The horse itself is modest in design and is notably partially submerged in the water. Nolan finally gets to put his own spin on The Iliad after losing Troy, using it as an exciting prologue before the grander story of The Odyssey.
Agammenon’s Armor Emphasizes Mythic Scope Instead of Historical Accuracy
The big wow shot of the trailer is when the Greeks manage to open the gates of Troy as they are being beaten down by Trojan archers. When the gates open, a massive army of soldiers runs in. Easily identifiable is the armor of Agammenon, the king of Mycenae. Benny Safdie will play Agammenon in the film, though he is unidentifiable under the beefy armor.
For as much as Nolan looks to be grounding The Odyssey in a tactile reality, he is also embracing heightened, stylized costumes. Some of this has been criticized for not being historically accurate, but that doesn’t appear to be Nolan’s goal. Judging by the massive size and style of Agammenon’s armor, Nolan and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick are embracing a more mythical design befitting an epic poem like The Odyssey.
‘The Odyssey’s Music Will Be Epic
Is it too early to be talking about the Best Original Score Oscar in 2026? Because just a six-minute prologue for The Odyssey should put Ludwig Göransson into the conversation. This marks the composer’s third score for Nolan, having previously worked together on Tenet and Oppenheimer.
Ludwig Göransson has become one of the greatest composers of the modern era, and his work on The Odyssey already sounds like it will be another classic. The score is propulsive and thrilling to match the intensity and suspense of the siege, giving audiences the same excitement as they did when they heard the first segments of Hans Zimmer’s The Dark Knight score. It has us eagerly awaiting the release of the score in full.
Nolan Isn’t Shying Away From the Fantastical Elements
When Nolan was first announced to direct The Odyssey, many wondered how the director who has favored realism and practical effects would handle more fantastical elements like the various Greek gods, the witch Circe, or the Cyclops. After all, he famously grounded the fantastical world of Batman in a way that reshaped movies. Would he do the same for The Odyssey? Or would he embrace the fantastical elements, and if so, how would that work alongside his desire for practical visual effects in favor of CGI?
Following the prologue, a few brief scenes showcase segments of the movie, including a Cyclops that appears to be done with impressive makeup. In many ways, Nolan seems to use the Trojan Horse section from The Iliad as the prologue, which might be an essential marker for Odysseus’ journey, as he leaves the grounded war and his journey takes him into the unknown, through a world of gods and monsters. We certainly can’t wait to see how the director imagines the Greek pantheon of gods and the monstrous Scylla.
‘The Odyssey’ Looks Like Another Hit for Christopher Nolan
The final note on The Odyssey is just how great it looks. Nolan is easily one of the best living filmmakers around. He has shown himself to be one of the big-name directors who can draw audiences out for anything, as seen by taking a three-hour drama like Oppenheimer about the creation of the atomic bomb into a blockbuster. It feels fitting that a director as acclaimed and beloved as Nolan would be the one to adapt a story as famous as The Odyssey and give it the definitive blockbuster treatment. If anyone can turn this centuries-old tale into a must-see cinematic event, it is Christopher Nolan.
What’s even more impressive is that it appears to be working. Early word of mouth from audiences has praised the footage, with many screenings breaking out into applause. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday teaser,which also played before Avatar: Fire and Ash, has been met with silence from many crowds and disappointment from many others. Avengers: Doomsday teaser isn’t doing itself any favors by playing after The Odyssey, but it also highlights a key fundamental difference between the two projects. The Avengers: Doomsday teases audiences with the safe and familiar, while The Odyssey promises moviegoers something unlike anything they’ve ever seen, and that is the more exciting prospect.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
