The first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Odyssey has finally debuted, offering a glimpse into what promises to be one of the most ambitious blockbusters in cinematic history. Following the monumental success of Oppenheimer, Nolan has returned to Universal Pictures with a staggering A-list ensemble, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, and Lupita Nyong’o.
To capture the ancient world’s immense scale, the film was shot globally using cutting-edge IMAX film technology. Nolan’s vision for Homer’s foundational saga isn’t just a simple retelling; it’s an attempt to give mythology a level of cinematic gravity never seen before.
Explaining his attraction to the ancient text, Nolan shared with Empire: “I mean, it truly contains all stories. As a filmmaker, you’re looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before. And what I saw is that all of this great mythological cinematic work that I had grown up with — Ray Harryhausen movies and other things — I’d never seen that done with the sort of weight and credibility that an A-budget and a big Hollywood, IMAX production could do.”
The director emphasized that the film focuses on the brutal physicality of a world without maps. “It’s vast and terrifying and wonderful and benevolent, as the conditions shift. We really wanted to capture how hard those journeys would have been for people. And the leap of faith that was being made in an unmapped, uncharted world,” Nolan added. “By embracing the physicality of the real world in the making of the film, you do inform the telling of the story in interesting ways… because you’re confronted on a daily basis by the world pushing back at you.”
The Odyssey is set to hit theaters worldwide on July 17, 2026.
