Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
Blockbuster auteur Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. Here’s what we know and don’t about it so far:
- The film will be a “mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX technology” distributed by Universal Pictures.
- The Odyssey will open in theaters on July 17, 2026.
- The cast is said to include Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson.
- Given the recent interest in retelling these tales in a more contemporary way from the perspective of women (Emily Wilson’s The Odyssey, Madeline Miller’s Circe, A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes), it’ll be interesting to see if Nolan is sourcing from any of these texts and where he lands on who is the focus of the story. (Nolan has historically not been great with female characters.)
- How on earth is this movie going to be under 4-5 hours long? Will this be a Part I?
- It would be cool for TSG Entertainment to have a hand in producing this…their logo features Odysseus shooting an arrow through several axe heads.
Comments 1
I'm already imagining the contrast between Nolan's version of the Odyssey, and the Conan Bros. in O Brother Where Art Thou, (okay, that's inspired by the Odyssey and not a retelling).
- Tone: Prententious and self-important vs. lighthearted and comical.
- Dialog: Turgid, stilted vs. Tarantino-level engrossing and entertaining.
- Music: Soaring, serious, heroic vs. Man of Constant Sorrow.
- Length Many hours vs. 1.5.
- Budget: Probably $100M+ vs. under $25M.
For the life of me I cannot understand the attraction of Nolan to movie-goers and A-list actors.
Hello! In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed on your browser...sometimes they can interfere with the Memberful links. Still having trouble? Email me!
In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. Check out your options for renewal.
This is the name that'll be displayed next to comments you make on kottke.org; your email will not be displayed publicly. I'd encourage you to use your real name (or at least your first name and last initial) but you can also pick something that you go by when you participate in communities online. Choose something durable and reasonably unique (not "Me" or "anon"). Please don't change this often. No impersonation.
Note: I'm letting folks change their display names because the membership service that kottke.org uses collects full names and I thought some people might not want their names displayed publicly here. If it gets abused, I might disable this feature.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
Hello! In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed on your browser...sometimes they can interfere with the Memberful links. Still having trouble? Email me!