Empire Magazine has shared some new stills from Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Universal Pictures adaptation of The Odyssey.
Odysseus (Matt Damon). Image courtesy of Universal Pictures
The Odyssey is a story about a man, Odysseus (Matt Damon), on a perilous, decade-long journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, where he faces numerous supernatural obstacles like mythical creatures and divine interference.
Some of the first official images from the film, shot by Nolan and revealed on Empire’s (@empiremagazine) on the X platform formerly known as Twitter, gives us a look at three key characters who await Odysseus’ return to Ithaca during his journey home.
The exclusive images reveal Tom Holland, the son of Odysseus, Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as his mother and Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, and Mia Goth as Melantho.
Many adaptations of Homer’s
The Odyssey have been attempted across various media, including direct film and television versions like the 1997 miniseries, co-produced by Hallmark Entertainment and Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope which originally aired in two parts on NBC television and starred Armand Assante as Odysseus. Other retellings exist in literature, with some focusing on specific characters, like Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, and others reimagining the story from different perspectives.
Adapting Homer’s epic poem
The Odyssey is widely considered challenging for film due to many of the same reasons as Frank Herbert’s Dune, primarily due to the source material’s complexity, vast scope, episodic structure, and deep philosophical themes. However, the recent adaptations of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films have achieved significant commercial and critical success. Many speculate that Nolan’s film has the potential to achieve greatness as well, but time will tell.
In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, hitting newsstands soon, readers get even more of the first images of the film, along with detailed interviews with Nolan and his lead — Matt Damon — answering questions about this production.
Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Damon described the scale of filming as “massively entertaining” and “mythic,” stating that the productions involved grand, practical filmmaking with “staggering” scope highlighted by the construction of a full Trojan horse. He was in awe of Nolan’s ability to execute sequences that seemed impossible. When Damon asked, “How are you going to do it?” Nolan responded, “I don’t know. We’ll just get in there and figure it out.”
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures via Empire Magazine
Nolan says the film also promises to be huge and a faithful take on what life would have been like during a journey at that time and to capture the realism of it all.
“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,” Nolan said. “By embracing the physicality of the real world in the making of the film, you do inform the telling of the story in interesting ways.”
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures via Empire Magazine
The film is notable for being the first feature-length movie entirely shot on the large-scale IMAX format, which uses considerably more film than standard 35mm cameras. According to Indepth Cine, Imax cameras use around 337ft of 65mm film per minute, compared to 90ft for 35mm. This suggests Nolan has shot around 100 hours of raw footage.
Other actors, including Robert Pattinson, have also recently appeared in new images from the film as Antinous, identified by @pattinsonphotos on X, as “one of the many suitors vying for Penelope (Anne Hathaway), Odysseus’ wife.” He also is said to play an antagonist in the film.
Two behind-the-scenes photos were shared by @he4vensnight on the X platform, showing Zendaya on set as Athena alongside Matt Damon.
Fans have also been treated on the X platform, via Discussing Film, to a first look at John Leguizamo as Eumaeus. In the epic poem Odyssey, the character is the swineherd of Odysseus and maintains his loyalty even when the king is away. He is a steadfast protector of Odysseus’s family and estate.
The Odyssey, set for release on July 17, 2026, required IMAX to innovate by developing new, quieter, and lighter cameras to meet Nolan’s requirements for a 100% IMAX production. It’s truly breaking new ground for cinema.
Courtesy of Getty Images
Other notable case members include, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, and Samantha Morton, among many others.
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Advance tickets for select IMAX screenings sold out a year in advance, demonstrating significant audience excitement for the upcoming movie.
We will keep you up to date on this exciting epic as more details are released.
“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns, driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy”. This line sets the stage for Odysseus’s long and arduous journey home.
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
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