Today, Universal Pictures has released a first-look still image from the upcoming Christopher Nolan film “The Odyssey.” That tantalizing image spotlights lead actor Matt Damon (“Oppenheimer,” “Interstellar”) in the role of Odysseus, the protagonist ruler and soldier, who after the massive siege of Troy by a fleet of Greeks has a disastrous journey back home to his kingdom of Ithaca, and his wife Penelope.
The impressive collection of actors selected for the film to star alongside Damon includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, and recent addition Mia Goth (“MaXXXine”).
Based on the epic poem of the same name by Homer, Odysseus (Damon) and his brave crew face many dangerous perils such as the seductive ship-destroying sirens, the nefarious sorceress Circe, a giant cyclops, sea beasts, and the wrath of the Gods themselves.
This will mark Nolan’s first entry in the swords and sandals genre after naming “Gladiator II” one of his favorite films of 2024 and once being attached to “Troy” for Warner Bros., which was the precursor to these events but made “Batman Begins” instead for the studio. There is also an expectation that given the supernatural and mythical elements of the story, we could end up seeing a lot more digital effects than we normally see in a Nolan (who prides himself in doing as much VFX as possible in-camera) film.
“The Odyssey” is set to be released next summer on July 17, 2026, and this first-look image would be confirmation that production is firmly underway. Universal and Nolan’s working relationship after “Oppenheimer” seems to be cemented with the Greek pic and we’ll hopefully see the two reteam for more projects.
Damon is sporting quite an elaborate costume as you can see for yourselves below:
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