Christopher Nolan teases The Odyssey: “We shot over two million feet of film"

For Christopher Nolan's 13th feature film, he's tackling one of the most iconic stories ever told: Homer's Odyssey. The Greek epic has been shown from various angles before in myriad movies, but Nolan's production feels particularly massive. He's assembled the mother of all-star casts, with actors including Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Elliot Page... the list goes on.

The Odyssey is a spawling epic taking place in the wake of the Trojan War. At its core, it's the story of Odysseus (Damon), who embarks on a long and grueling quest to return home to his wife Penelope. Naturally, his journey takes innumerable twists and turns, and he faces many trials and tribulations.

“There’s a bit of everything in it. I mean, it truly contains all stories.” Nolan told Empire in a recent interview. The idea of making an Odyssey movie had been brewing for quite some time. He was waiting for the perfect moment, both in his glittering career and in modern filmmaking standards, to tackle the saga.

“As a filmmaker, you’re looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before," he explained. "And what I saw is that all of this great mythological cinematic work that I had grown up with – Ray Harryhausen movies and other things – I’d never seen that done with the sort of weight and credibility that an A-budget and a big Hollywood, IMAX production could do.”

The 91-day filming process was enormous. To put it into perspective, Nolan said, “We shot over two million feet of film,” adding that the production itself was "pretty primal."

While there will undoubtedly be plenty of special effects to embellish the film, it was truly filmed in raw and rough conditions. "We got the cast who play the crew of Odysseus’ ship out there on the real waves, in the real places," Nolan said. "And yeah, it’s vast and terrifying and wonderful and benevolent, as the conditions shift. We really wanted to capture how hard those journeys would have been for people. And the leap of faith that was being made in an unmapped, uncharted world.”

First look at Matt Damon in The Odyssey!

Matt Damon has done a little of everything in his career. He's been stranded on Mars (in The Martian), a CIA agent (as Jason Bourne), and so on. In The Odyssey, he's none other than Odysseus — and the role suits him well. Thanks to an exclusive reveal from Empire, we've got our first look at him as the Greek hero. Take a look:

“I can say, without hyperbole, that it was the best experience of my career,” Damon said of filming The Odyssey.

He can't wait for fans to experience the movie on the big screen when it releases in Summer 2026, saying it's “exactly what you want of a summer movie” and that Nolan's direction makes it "feel mythic.”

Will The Odyssey be the greatest vision of Greek mythology on film ever made? The movie is scheduled to open in theaters on July 17, 2026. If there was ever a movie made for the big screen, this is it.