Nolan's Odyssey arrives in cinemas: what you need to know about the film: a man's long return against gods and storms
The poem that taught the West what it means to come home.
The idea that Christopher Nolan would choose the Odyssey as his next film says a lot about where his career stands and the kind of challenge he seems to want to tackle after Oppenheimer. It's not just about bringing a foundational text of Western culture to the cinema, but doing so through a method that, for years, has emphasized the physicality of images and an extremely marked authorial control. Odyssey, original title The Odyssey, is presented as an epic action fantasy written and directed by Nolan, produced with Emma Thomas through Syncopy, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is available starting today, July 16, 2026, in Italian cinemas.
- The plot
- What's the film like?
- The cast
- When is it released?
- From epic poem to film
- Where was it filmed?
- The trailer
- The poster
The plot of Odyssey, Nolan's film
The narrative structure follows the framework of the poem attributed to Homer. At its center is Odysseus, king of Ithaca, engaged in a return that, after the Trojan War, transforms into a long and treacherous journey. The film follows the stages of this journey and its trials, including encounters with mythical figures such as Polyphemus, the Sirens, and Circe, while the goal remains one: to reunite with Penelope, who has remained in Ithaca, facing her husband's absence and the pressure of the suitors.
The narrative trajectory brings together adventure and domestic tension. On one hand, the dimension of the sea and the unknown opens up; on the other, the home becomes a contested space, where waiting is not immobility, but a form of daily resistance. This balance is crucial to understanding what kind of adaptation Nolan intends to create: not a sequence of obstacles lined up, but a story driven by a precise emotional core, linked to family and power.
What Odyssey is like: the film review
Christopher Nolan's Odyssey transforms Homer's poem into an epic and spectacular blockbuster, without sacrificing a contemporary reading of war and its consequences. Matt Damon's Odysseus is a man marked by mistakes, while Telemachus, Penelope, and Athena strengthen the family dimension. The use of IMAX and Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography make the film immersive. Not perfect, but powerful and engaging, capable of blending authorial ambition and popular entertainment. Here you can find the full review of the film.
The cast of Odyssey (2026)
The role of Odysseus is entrusted to Matt Damon, while Anne Hathaway plays Penelope. Tom Holland is Telemachus, the son determined to discover his father's fate. Among the characters with indicated roles are also Robert Pattinson as Antinous, one of the suitors, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Circe, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, and Benny Safdie as Agamemnon. Also mentioned are John Leguizamo, who plays Eumaeus, Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, Mia Goth as Melantho, and Jimmy Gonzales as Cephalus.
Around these names revolves a very large ensemble, with other performers announced in unspecified roles. The choral dimension is not new to Nolan's cinema, but here it takes on a structural character: the Odyssey, by its nature, is a story of encounters and deviations. An interesting detail about Damon's work also emerges from the available material. Nolan describes him as a complex and strategic character, with a reference to Emily Wilson's 2017 translation indicated as a point of focus for the characterization.
When is Odyssey released?
The release is set for July 16, 2026 in Italy. Distribution in IMAX, IMAX 70mm, and other premium large formats is also planned.
On the IMAX front, an unusual choice is reported: early ticket availability for selected IMAX 70mm screenings starting July 17, 2025, one year before the release. Several dates sold out quickly within the first hours of sale.
Odyssey, from epic poem to film
The adaptation is based on a text considered among the most ancient and influential in Western literature, which tells the story of Odysseus's return to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer. It narrates the return journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, after the Trojan conflict: a very long journey fraught with trials, in which the hero faces dangers and extraordinary encounters, while in Ithaca his wife Penelope and son Telemachus bear the burden of waiting and the crisis of the kingdom.
Nolan comes to this project after a period of strong public exposure related to Oppenheimer. A central element concerns the declared intention to stage Greek mythology with a realistic approach, seeking a tactile realism capable of making even fantastic elements perceptible and credible. On the production side, collaborators already involved in Oppenheimer return, such as production designer Ruth De Jong and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick. The intention to “translate” the intervention of the gods through natural phenomena that, in the context of the story, can be read as supernatural is also indicated.
A clear technical choice also contributes to making this direction concrete: Odyssey is described as Nolan's first film shot entirely with IMAX 70mm cameras, also using a lighter and quieter version developed to allow for previously impractical work and conditions.
Nolan thus confronts one of the foundational texts of Western culture. It remains to be seen whether he will succeed in conveying its epic nature and thematic complexity without losing his own authorial signature.
Where was Odyssey filmed?
Christopher Nolan chose Italy as one of the visual focal points of his Odyssey, filming between Favignana, the Aeolian Islands, and Ostia to recreate Odysseus's epic journey. Sicily, with its rugged coastlines and wild landscapes, offers perfect natural settings to evoke the myth, while the port of Ostia hosted some maritime sequences. The Italian filming, part of an international production, strengthens the link between the Homeric poem and the real Mediterranean, transforming iconic locations into global cinematic sets. Here you can find details on the filming locations.