Nolan unveils first trailer for The Odyssey starring Damon

Christopher Nolan released the first official trailer for The Odyssey on December 22, featuring Matt Damon as Odysseus on his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, with the film set to hit theaters on July 17, 2026ew+2.
The $250 million epic makes cinematic history as the first narrative feature shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film cameras, with Nolan using brand new technology across a 91-day shoot spanning multiple countriesdarkhorizons+1.
The star-studded cast includes Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, and Zendaya, with the project marking Nolan's first film since winning Best Picture and Best Director for Oppenheimerew+1.

Christopher Nolan released the first trailer for his highly anticipated epic The Odyssey on Monday, giving audiences worldwide their most extensive look yet at the filmmaker's ambitious adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek poem.ew+2

The trailer, which dropped online December 22, features Matt Damon as Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca embarking on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War. "After years of war, no one could stand between my men and home," Damon's voiceover states. "Not even me".darkhorizons+2

The footage marks the first official online release for The Odyssey, which is set to hit theaters July 17, 2026. Universal Pictures Comcast Corporation previously debuted a six-minute prologue exclusively in IMAX theaters on December 12 ahead of screenings of Sinners and One Battle After Another, with a shorter version playing before Avatar: Fire and Ash starting December 19. An earlier 70-second teaser appeared exclusively in theaters in July 2025 before Jurassic World Rebirth but was never released online.brobible+7

A Historic Production

The Odyssey breaks new ground as the first narrative feature ever shot entirely using IMAX 70mm film cameras. According to Variety, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who won an Oscar for his work on Nolan's Oppenheimer, achieved this milestone using a new "blimp" system that dramatically reduces camera noise, allowing intimate dialogue scenes previously impossible with the notoriously loud IMAX equipment.ew+4

"You can be shooting a foot from [an actor's] face while they're whispering and get usable sound," Nolan explained to Empire magazine. The breakthrough came after van Hoytema demonstrated the technology's capabilities by filming a child reciting David Bowie lyrics, which Nolan called "electrifying".nocontextculture

With a reported budget of $250 million, The Odyssey is Nolan's most expensive film to date. The production shot over two million feet of film across 91 days, including four months at sea.darkhorizons+7

Star-Studded Cast

The ensemble includes Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus' son, and Anne Hathaway as Penelope, his wife. The cast also features Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Circe, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, and John Leguizamo.ew+5

"As a filmmaker, you're looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven't been done before," Nolan told Empire about choosing to adapt the Greek epic with modern resources and the immersive power of IMAX.nocontextculture

IMAX 70mm tickets for opening weekend went on sale a year early in July 2025, with 95 percent selling out within an hour for approximately $1.5 million.hollywoodreporter

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