Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie Will Be an Adaptation of The Odyssey

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Christopher Nolan is headed back to the classics. Just before Christmas, Universal Pictures announced that Nolan’s next film with them will be an adaptation of The Odyssey, the epic Greek poem from Homer. The Odyssey follows Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, on his journey home to his wife Penelope following his exploits in the Trojan War (the end of which is depicted in Homer’s other poem, The Iliad); along the way, he encounters Greek mythological figures such as the cyclops, Calypso the nymph, and the goddess Athena. Previously, some of the cast for Nolan’s adaptation – which was then just his next mystery project – was announced, with Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, and Zendaya set to star in the movie, though it’s unclear who will play which characters. In their announcement post on X, Universal revealed that The Odyssey (assuming that’s what the film will be called) will be shot with “new IMAX film technology,” which is one of Nolan’s hallmarks, and that it will arrive in theaters on July 17, 2026.

Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a 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.

— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) December 23, 2024

My first question when I saw the announcement was whether this would be a straight adaptation of The Odyssey that included the fantasy elements or a pared-down, realistic interpretation, as Nolan did with Batman (an idea that was later taken to a ridiculous degree by Matt Reeves). We don’t know yet, but I tend to think this will be a more faithful version of the story, at least in spirit. Universal refers to Nolan’s film as a “mythical action epic,” which suggests the fantasy elements will remain, or at least that it will take place in ancient Greece. And the notion of doing an adaptation of Homer’s poems without the mysticism is not a new idea; Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy, which I liked a lot, was an adaptation of The Iliad that eschewed the gods and treated the Trojan War like a real-life conflict (the ways they got around some of the magical elements, such as Achilles’ heel, were clever), and the Coen Brothers brought The Odyssey to the American South in the brilliant Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? As recently as this month, a more grounded adaptation of the final sections of The Odyssey called The Return hit theaters, with Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as Penelope. (Interestingly, there haven’t been many American versions that were straight adaptations of the text; the only one I can find is the miniseries from the 90s with Armand Assante as Odysseus, which I haven’t seen since it aired but remember enjoying.) Moreover, Nolan is not completely averse to fantasy; Inception, Interstellar, Tenet, and The Prestige all feature sci-fi or fantastical elements.

But the real reason I want to see Nolan go for the gusto with The Odyssey is that I want to see him do something completely different from any of his previous films. I imagine The Odyssey will be that regardless, but an epic journey in ancient Greece filled with gods and monsters would be something radically new and completely outside his wheelhouse… at least, as far as we know. Who’s to say he won’t end up giving us the best epic fantasy film we’ve had in years, one so good we’ll wonder why he hasn’t been making them all along (until we revisit his previous hits and remember why we love them)? That would be fantastic, and I’m perhaps even more excited than I usually am for Nolan’s next movie. I’m also interested in the casting. I  guess who will be who depends on how old Nolan wants to go with the various characters. Based on the announcements so far, I’d like to see Matt Damon as Odysseus; I think you need someone with some mileage to play a soldier weary from a big war who will brave anything to get home. Anne Hathaway could then be Penelope, with Charlize Theron as either Athena or Calypso. (I lean towards the latter for Theron; I think she’d be great as the seductive temptress.) On the other hand, Theron is closer in age to Damon, so maybe she’ll be Penelope, with Hathaway as Athena or Calypso; Nolan got quite a sensual performance from her as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, which I haven’t seen from her anywhere else. Of course, it could also be that they’re all background players, and the leads haven’t been cast yet; Nolan’s films have become more star-studded as his career has progressed, with Oppenheimer being filled to the brim with big-name talent. Regardless, I’m very excited to see his version of one of the great literary stories of all time.

Let us know what you think of Christopher Nolan directing an adaptation of The Odyssey in the comments!

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