The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan somewhat surprisingly shared the first look atThe Odysseywith the film’s release still more than a year away, but he had a very good reason for doing so.The image that Nolan sharedwas of Matt Damon in what appears to besome exaggerated Greek armor, and it was subsequently confirmed that Damon will portray the movie’s hero Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca.The Odysseywill be an adaptation of the Homeric poem of the same name, which follows the exploits of Odysseus and his crew on their 10-year journey home from the Trojan War.
The cast list for what should be an epic action-fantasy adventure is loaded withpeople that Nolan has worked with before, and it was feasible that several of the A-listers in the ever-growing cast could portray Odysseus.
Nolan’s confirmation of Damon in the role wasn’t necessarily a surprise, but him doing so with an actual image of the actor in costume and on set was completely unexpected given that the movie’s release date isn’t until summer 2026.
However, Nolan had a legitimate reason to get ahead of the paparazzi who will certainly be after set photos in the coming year.
Christopher Nolan’s next movie, an adaptation of the Greek epic poem The Odyssey, continues a moviemaking trend that began with Oppenheimer.
The Odyssey Is Likely About To Film A Lot Of Outdoor Scenes
Most Of The Narrative Takes Place On The Sea Or Island Locations
While Nolan’s movie will certainly not cover all the events of Homer’sOdysseydue to runtime, it will likely include many noteworthy events from the narrative.
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War takes place largely on the sea or the islands of the Mediterranean, both real and mythical.
If Nolan means to capture them in a largely practical sense as opposed to leaning on CGI, as he is known to do, that means thatmany of the scenes will have to be shot outside, taking advantage of real-world locationsand natural elements as opposed to adding them in post-production.
The events ofThe Odysseyare largely influenced by the Greek gods, and early speculation was that Damon would be playing one of the major deities in the story, like Poseidon or Zeus.
With so many scenes shot away from sound stages and green screens, the paparazzi seeking on-set photos of the myriad megastars in the cast will be ravenous.
By releasing the first look atThe Odysseyhimself,Nolan gets to control the media frenzy that would come from such an image, and hopefully that will help keep the more ambitious set-stalkers at bay.
With so many outdoor scenes, it is all but inevitable that more photos from the sets will leak, but this way Nolan himself gets to make the biggest splash, especially given that Nolan will be shooting on location.
The Odyssey Filming On Location Is One Of The Most Exciting Things About Nolan’s Epic
It Could Be Nolan’s Most Visually Captivating Movie Yet
Nolan’s movies are marked by authenticity and practically-created effects that yield visually stunning images to support Nolan’s mind-bending stories.
Now thatfilming locations have been revealed forThe Odyssey, it’s clear thatNolan intends to actually capture the landscapes and climates of the Mediterranean islands.
Nolan will shoot in parts of Sicily, specifically around the crystal-clear waters of the island of Favignana, where some of the events depicted inThe Odysseyare reported to have taken place.
Christopher Nolan Movie Budgets
Movie
Release Year
Budget
Box Office Gross
Memento
2000
$9 million
$40 million
Insomnia
2002
$46 million
$113.8 million
Batman Begins
2005
$150 million
$373.7 million
The Prestige
2006
$109.7 million
The Dark Knight
2008
$185 million
$1.006 billion
Inception
2010
$160 million
$839 million
The Dark Knight Rises
2012
$250 million
$1.115 billion
Interstellar
2014
$165 million
$741.4 million
Dunkirk
2017
$100 million
$530.4 million
Tenet
2020
$205 million
$365.9 million
Oppenheimer
2023
$976.8 million
2026
Pending
It’s an extremely exciting element of the movie’s production, as the genuine prefs are sure to enhance the visuals for Nolan’s epic.
With Nolan shooting on location,he’ll be able to take advantage of the natural elements of the Mediterraneanto create something that stands out in modern movies, which are all-too-often filled with very obvious CGI.
As visually rich as movies like Inception, Oppenheimer, and Tenet have been,The Odysseycould outshine them all, especially givenThe Odyssey’s ambitious budget.
Cast
