Christopher Nolan showcases ‘The Odyssey’ at CinemaCon, calls it a 'long-held dream'

Universal has revealed a fresh glimpse of The Odyssey, its Imax special feature from Christopher Nolan that's inspired by Homer’s classic Greek epic poem. The director attended the event to showcase the film.

We’ve already caught a preview released for the movie. However, today in Las Vegas, we saw a scene featuring Matt Damon as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, conversing with Calypso (Charlize Theron), a nymph who has held him on her island for seven years after he was shipwrecked following the Trojan War.

"How long have I stayed here, Calypso?" he inquires. "I can’t recall anything prior to Troy. Did I have a wife, kids, perhaps a son? If there was a son, how old would he be now?"

Once the Trojans drag the wooden horse from the sea and haul it by ropes across the sand into their city, they position it in the heart of the stronghold. By nightfall, Menelaus, Odysseus, and their Greek soldiers emerge to win the ten-year conflict of Troy.

Receiving enthusiastic applause upon taking the stage this evening in Las Vegas, Nolan shared his passion for narrating this tale, noting that it’s a story that has captivated people for the past 3,000 years. According to him, it’s not a story, it’s the story.”

He expressed his wish to grasp “the thrilling chance to present this to contemporary moviegoers.”

Nolan highlighted Holland, Damon, and Anne Hathaway’s Penelope, Odysseus's wife, as central to a narrative that focuses on “family” and “returning home.”

With Nolan's enduring interest in grand-scale cinema events, he sought to depict this story in an especially engaging format. 

“The longstanding ambition,” he remarked, was to shoot an entire movie on Imax from start to finish for the first time, filming dialogue sequences with the same care as action scenes, avoiding the varying aspect ratios he’s used in previous works.

Clearly, achieving this was a challenge. He confessed that The Odyssey was “exceptionally tough to film,” though “in all the good ways,” adding, “We had a magnificent experience making it,” and that the film is “nearly ready.”

First announced in December 2024, Nolan’s The Odyssey follows Damon’s Odysseus embarking on a lengthy and hazardous journey back to his family after the Trojan War, aiming for a joyful reunion. 

The star-studded cast also features Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, Cosmo Jarvis, Michael Vlamis, and Iddo Goldberg.

Nolan took on this project after working with Universal on Oppenheimer, which was nominated for 13 Oscars and received seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. 

He directed from his personal script and produced it alongside his devoted collaborator and wife, Emma Thomas.

The film is slated to premiere in Imax on July 17.