The Odyssey is a 2026 epic action fantasy film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who produced it with his wife Emma Thomas. An adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem the Odyssey, it stars an ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Odysseus (Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, undergoes a long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War and encounters mythical beings as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Hathaway).
Nolan began writing the script in March 2024 and secured the project with Universal Pictures by October. The Odyssey was announced in December. Casting took place from late 2024 through early 2025, and Damon was confirmed for the lead role in February 2025. Nolan studied several translations of the Odyssey before deciding upon a realistic interpretation of Greek mythology, drawing inspiration from the epic historical films Andrei Rublev (1966) and Ran (1985), as well as the films of special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. Filming took place on location from February to August 2025 in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara, and Malta, as well as at the Universal Studios Lot in Los Angeles. With an estimated budget of , it is among the most expensive films of Nolan's career, and the first feature film to be shot entirely on IMAX's 70 mm film cameras.
The Odyssey premiered at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on July 6, 2026, ahead of a theatrical release by Universal Pictures on July 17 in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was made available in IMAX and multiple premium large formats. The film received acclaim for its direction, performances, and set pieces, though some criticized Nolan's deviations from the source material. It has grossed worldwide, becoming Nolan's highest-grossing film, the second-highest-grossing film of 2026, the highest-grossing R-rated film ever, the highest-grossing film distributed by Universal, and the eleventh-highest grossing film of all time.
Plot
For twenty years, Ithaca has been kingless since Odysseus did not return from the Trojan War. Several suitors, including nobleman Antinous, aggressively court Odysseus's wife Penelope to claim the throne from Odysseus and Penelope's son Telemachus. Only Penelope, Telemachus, and Odysseus' half-blind servant Eumaeus still believe Odysseus will return. Penelope tells Telemachus she fears attacks by murderous "Sea Peoples" who violate Zeus's law, the custom of respect between guests and hosts. Telemachus travels with Odysseus's friend Mentor to Menelaus, King of Sparta, to ascertain his father's whereabouts. Antinous learns about this and conspires to kill Telemachus upon his return and plunder Ithaca. Menelaus and his wife, Helen, tell Telemachus about the war, but express uncertainty about Odysseus's fate.
Meanwhile, the goddess Athena appears to Odysseus on the island of Ogygia, where the nymph Calypso is infatuated with Odysseus. Athena commands Odysseus to return home; Calypso dislikes this, but encourages Odysseus to remember his past. Years earlier, the Greek army, led by Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, conquered Troy using Odysseus' stratagem, the Trojan Horse, hiding Greeks inside, with the soldier Sinon sacrificed as a decoy. While Menelaus and Agamemnon returned home, Odysseus and his crew, including second-in-command Eurylochus, searched an island for supplies. However, the cyclops Polyphemus traps them in a cave and devours several soldiers. They blind Polyphemus and escape, but hear him cry out to his father, the sea god Poseidon. Consequently, the crew suffers harsh sea conditions. They land on Telepylus where Laestrygonians (man-eating giants), kill most of them and sink two of their three ships. The survivors rebel, leaving Odysseus with their ship as they seek refuge on Aeaea with the witch Circe, who turns them into pigs. After Odysseus persuades her to change his men back, Circe advises that to reach Ithaca, Odysseus must cross the river Oceanus into Hades.
There, Odysseus meets his fallen soldiers, including Sinon's shade, who reproaches him for deceiving him, and reveals that Antinous manipulated him into taking his place in the Greek army. Next, Agamemnon's shade reveals that his wife Clytemnestra murdered him upon his return as revenge for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia to Artemis for fair seas. Finally, Odysseus speaks with the shade of the prophet Tiresias, who predicts that, by divine will, only Odysseus will return home. Chased from the underworld by Odysseus' fallen army, Odysseus follows Tiresias' guidance to survive encounters with the Sirens and sea monsters Charybdis and Scylla. On Thrinacia, Odysseus warns his men not to kill the cattle of Apollo, as Tiresias foretold Odysseus' men would die if they did, but the starving men disobey. Zeus sends a storm that sinks their ship, killing all but Odysseus. He washes ashore unconscious on Ogygia, where Calypso's lotus flowers render him amnesic.
After seven years, Odysseus regains his memories, builds a raft, and surrenders his fate to the storm. He washes ashore in Ithaca, where he disguises himself and bears the alias "Sinon". Eumaeus tells him that the suitors sent bandits to assassinate Telemachus and Mentor. The bandits kill Mentor, but Odysseus rescues Telemachus and kills the bandits. Odysseus's elderly dog Argos dies as he recognizes Odysseus, and Telemachus deduces Odysseus's identity. During a feast, Odysseus confronts Antinous about betraying Sinon. Antinous thrashes Odysseus before Telemachus intervenes.
After the meal, Odysseus, still disguised, confesses to Penelope his guilt for violating Zeus's law during the sacking of Troy, desecrating Athena's statue after killing her priestess (whose form Athena assumed in visions), and initiating the Late Bronze Age collapse. He reveals that the "sea people" were the Greeks themselves, and begs Penelope's forgiveness. Penelope announces her readiness to remarry and instructs the suitors to return at dawn.
Penelope declares she will marry whomever can string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through a row of axe heads. All the suitors fail, but Odysseus succeeds, thereby revealing his identity. The hall erupts in battle. Telemachus aids Odysseus in killing many of the challenging suitors, including Antinous. After the remaining suitors surrender, Odysseus cedes his throne to Telemachus and leaves with Penelope to seek peace in exile. Sailing west to honor Odysseus' fallen soldiers, the couple expect civilization's renewal and muse that time will forget Odysseus' mistakes.
Cast
Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca. Director Christopher Nolan described Odysseus as complicated, "an amazing strategist, [and] a very wily person". Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus and Penelope's son and the prince of Ithaca, who is determined to find his father. Anne Hathaway as Penelope, wife of Odysseus, mother of Telemachus, and the queen of Ithaca, who fends off many suitors in her husband's absence. Robert Pattinson as Antinous, a suitor of Penelope, whom Pattinson described as sleazy and likened to James Woods's character Lester Diamond from the 1995 film Casino. Lupita Nyong'o in a dual role as: Helen of Troy, wife of Menelaus, described as the most beautiful woman in the world, whose abduction triggers the Trojan War. Clytemnestra, Helen's twin half-sister, wife of Agamemnon, who murders him upon his return from Troy. Samantha Morton as Circe, a witch and goddess on the island of Aeaea. John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, a blind swineherd, Odysseus's faithful slave. Zendaya as Athena, the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft, who protects Odysseus on his journey. She also portrays the young Trojan priestess of Athena who is killed during the sack of Troy and whose form Athena later takes. Charlize Theron as Calypso, a nymph on the island of Ogygia who tries to entice Odysseus to live as her husband with the promise of immortality. Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, the king of Sparta and Helen's husband. Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, Odysseus's second-in-command who challenges his thoughts and plans. Bill Irwin as the on-set performer of Polyphemus, a Cyclops and son of Poseidon. Elliot Page as Sinon, a Greek soldier and the son of a slave of Antinous, who was recruited as a child to be raised to serve as a soldier who would reach adulthood upon the Greeks' arrival at Troy. Sinon is not in Homer's original poem and his story was borrowed from Virgil's Aeneid and other myths. Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, the Greek king of Mycenae, Clytemnestra's husband, Menelaus's older brother, and the commander of the Greeks during the Trojan War.
Other suitors of Penelope include Corey Hawkins as Polybus, Niko Nicotera as Peisander, Elyes Gabel as Elatus, Iddo Goldberg as Amphimedon, and Jamie Harris as Agelus. Mia Goth and Logan Marshall-Green portray twin siblings Melantho and Melanthius, who are respectively a disloyal maidservant of Odysseus and Penelope and Odysseus's dishonest cowherd. Ryan Hurst portrays Mentor, Telemachus's guide and teacher, while James Remar plays Tiresias, a blind prophet of the Greek underworld. Other members of Odysseus's crew include Will Yun Lee as Anchialus, Jimmy Gonzales as Cepheus, Andrew Howard as Polites, Jovan Adepo as Elpenor, Jesse Garcia as Menetus, Josh Stewart as Antiphates, Sean Avery as Laodamas, Anthony Molinari as Perimedes, Stephen Murphy as Phemius, and Ian Casselberry as Dolios.
Travis Scott makes a cameo appearance as a bard, whom Nolan included because he wanted to allude to how the Odyssey had been retold through oral poetry, which he analogized to rapping, Scott's profession. Rafi Gavron and Shiloh Fernandez briefly appear as Trojans who kill Sinon and encounter the Trojan Horse. Others in minor roles include Kate Fuglei as Eurycleia, a loyal slave and nurse of Odysseus and Penelope; Maurice Compte as the steward of Menelaus; Nick E. Tarabay as the unnamed helmsman of Telemachus' ship; Brian Vernel as Irus, a bandit employed by Antinous to kill Telemachus; and Michael Vlamis as a fellow bandit assisting Irus.
Production Development and writing
By November 2023, director Christopher Nolan had yet to decide what his next film would be after Oppenheimer (2023). While he was receptive to various ideas, he felt he needed to "own it completely". After winning several Academy Awards for Oppenheimer in March 2024, including Best Picture and Best Director, Nolan and Emma Thomas, his wife and producing partner, felt the success provided them the opportunity to explore what Nolan's next film would be. Nolan began writing the script shortly after. Nolan was revealed in October to be developing his next film at Universal Pictures, after working with that studio on Oppenheimer. He was confirmed to be writing the script and producing once again with Thomas through their production company, Syncopy, and filming was scheduled to begin in early 2025. Unlike Oppenheimer, which Universal acquired at auction, The Odyssey was set up at the studio and given a release date of July 17, 2026.