Matt Damon Is Odysseus in First Image from Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ – IndieWire
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We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.On President’s Day, cinephiles got their first look at what just might be the most anticipated movie of 2026: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” Universal took to its official social media accounts to release the first photo from the film, which shows Matt Damon in costume as Odysseus, the mythical Greek hero who spends a decade trying to return home after fighting in the Trojan War. Damon was one of the first cast members announced for Nolan’s film, and was soon joined by Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Benny Safdie, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, and Elliot Page. None of the casting announcements have been accompanied by news about who is playing which character from Homer’s epic poem — though that did not stop fans from speculating that Holland could be playing Odysseus’ son Telemachus — so Universal’s post marks the first official confirmation that Damon is playing the titular role.
Related Stories Ethan Hawke on Richard Linklater’s ‘Blue Moon’ and Playing Lorenz Hart: ‘Offensive Art’ Won’t Get Made Unless We ‘Demand’ It ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ Both Raced to Streaming at Warp Speed Announced in December 2024, Nolan’s take on “The Odyssey” will be his 13th feature film. The box office success and Oscar dominance of “Oppenheimer” ensured that Nolan’s follow-up would be among the most coveted projects in Hollywood for actors and studios alike. Despite rumors of outreach from his former home Warner Bros., where he had worked for decades prior to “Oppenheimer,” Nolan opted to return to Universal for “The Odyssey.” “Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,” the studio wrote in a post on X announcing the film in December. “The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.”Nolan is unsurprisingly expected to shoot the film in IMAX formats, with production taking place in 2026 in Sicily, England, and Morocco. Many of the Sicilian islands are believed to be the locations Homer was referencing in his original text, as global borders have been significantly redrawn in the last three thousand years. It appears that Nolan is devoting the extensive Hollywood resources at his disposal to capturing the foundational text with an eye for both its epic scale and period detail. A Universal release, “The Odyssey” opens in theaters on July 17, 2026. By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
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