Happy holiday and Christmas has arrived early for fans of cinema and filmmaker Christopher Nolan. After weeks of casting updates, plot speculation, and rumors that all turned out to be wrong, Nolan has finally revealed his next film: an adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”
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Universal Pictures revealed the title and some scant details this late evening on Twitter, describing the film as “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 theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026,” the statement read in full.
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Nolan’s movie has an all-star cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron. Presumably, Damon is playing Odysseus, but as of right now, that’s unclear.
The story was just very recently retold onscreen in Uberto Pasolini’s “The Return” starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, but clearly, that did not deter Nolan. Homer’s “Odyssey” is an epic poem consisting of 24 books telling the story of the Trojan War hero Odysseus’ ten-year journey trying to get home to his wife. As a “wife guy,” Nolan’s always making movies with an element of wives and dead wives and women (“Inception,” “The Prestige,” etc.); one can argue (and jest) that The Odyssey is the ultimate wife-guy story.
Universal, the studio behind the Academy Award-winning “Oppenheimer,” is behind the project, and a production start is being eyed in early 2025.
Nolan writes the script again and produces it with his partner, Emma Thomas.
Nolan’s mysteriousness and protectiveness in his films are legendary. And to wit, Tom Holland recently admitted that he agreed to be part of the production without even knowing what the movie would be.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know what it’s about,” Holland recently said on “The Dish” podcast. “I’m super excited, but it’s been pretty quiet about the project. I met with [Nolan], and it was awesome. He kind of loosely pitched what it is, and I’m sure when he’s ready, he’ll announce what it’s about.”
What the new IMAX technology is being used is also unclear, but Nolan is obviously a huge disciple and advocate of the format.
“The Odyssey” lands in theaters on July 17, 2026, one week after the live-action “Moana” film from Disney and one week before Sony and Marvel’s Untitled “Spider-Man: No Way Home” sequel.
