There are not many better directors working today than Christopher Nolan. And his next project is The Odyssey, which is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious projects of his career.
It is out in 2026, meaning we'll have been waiting for three years for a new Nolan joint at its release, following on from 2023's brilliant Oppenheimer.
There's still a bit of a wait ahead but The Odyssey is already being teased in cinemas. A 70-second teaser of the film was shown first ahead of screenings of Jurassic World Rebirth. It has been shown before Superman screenings too. And in cinemas is the only place you'll see it, such is Nolan's support for the medium.
That very trailer gave us a few hints as to what's coming in The Odyssey. And alongside it, we got this first-look image of Matt Damon as Odysseus.
There has been no shortage of news stories and rumours surround the film too, which began filming in early 2025. Here’s everything we know about Christopher Nolan’s next movie so far.
1. It’s based on one of the oldest stories known to civilisation
Nolan’s next project is The Odyssey. And, yes, it’s that Odyssey. This is an adaptation of Homer’s 12,000-odd-line epic poem from ancient Greece.
It’s a classic of old myth that tells the story of Odysseus's voyage home after the Trojan War. It follows the events of the Illiad, another huge epic poem, which is set during that war. This is no jaunt, though. It spans continents, takes years, and sees Odysseus face all sorts of foes and challenges.
Universal calls it "a mythic action epic shot across the world."
2. It’s going to be shown (and shot) in IMAX
No surprise here. Christopher Nolan is once again making an IMAX-ready film. The movie will be shot entirely using IMAX camera tech, and will be the first film to do so.
These use 70mm film, as usual, but the new cameras are smaller and lighter than the older generation models. This could let Nolan employ them for more of the film’s scenes. Nolan has plenty of experience with the medium, having used 70mm IMAX film for parts of The Dark Knight movies, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet and 2023’s Oppenheimer.
Around 75 minutes of Oppenheimer's runtime was shot in IMAX, including the striking outdoor scenes at the Los Alamos lab.
3. The Odyssey may be Nolan’s most expensive movie yet
According to industry leaker and commentator Jeff Sneider, The Odyssey will be Christopher Nolan’s most expensive film ever. But when you look at the figures for his recent movies, and consider what inflation has done to production costs anyway, that’s no great surprise.
Oppenheimer was made for "just" $100 million, and made a whopping $975 million off it. Nolan’s priciest film to date is The Dark Knight Rises, made for $250 million and released all the way back in 2012.
Our most recent reference on the costs of a good old swords and sandals romp is Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, which had a production budget of $310 million. Big money.
4. The cast is star-studded
Who would want to work on a Christopher Nolan movie? Most of Hollywood, it seems.
While only a few roles have been confirmed as yet, there's a big list of talent attached to this one.
Matt Damon will play Odysseus, while Tom Holland is his son, Telemachus. He was revealed as such in the film's first cinema teaser.
Other top names include John Bernthal, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, Anne Hathaway, Eliot Page, Charlize Theron and John Leguizamo, among others.
Luipta Nyong'o stars too, and there are rumours she may actually play two roles in the film, after long being rumoured to play Athena. The current rumour mill suggests she will actually be Clytemnestra, the wife of king Agamemnon, who is expected to be played by Benny Safdie.
Cosmo Jarvis was attached at one point, but was recently replaced by Logan Marshall-Green. No major dramas here — it was down to a scheduling conflict, not a punch-up on set.
Other characters you can speculate upon include Odysseus’s wife Penelope, Zeus, Poseidon, Circe and Athena. Place your bets.
5. It is due to reach cinemas in Summer 2026
There’s clearly a lot of confidence behind this project, given the amount of detail we now have, because it’s not due to hit cinemas for quite a long old time.
The Odyssey has an official release date of July 17th, 2026. We'll be keeping our eyes out for more news on this Nolan epic.
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