Why Christopher Nolan Decided He Had To Finally Make The Odyssey

At the age of 55, Christopher Nolan is in his filmmaking prime. He's two years removed from the release of "Oppenheimer," the masterfully crafted drama about the man who spearheaded the creation of the atomic bomb, and wasted little time hurling himself into his next project, which may be the most ambitious he's ever attempted.

With a reported budget of $250 million, Nolan is turning Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey" into a star-studded production shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film. It is a massive international shoot, with locations including Greece, Morocco, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, and Western Sahara. Matt Damon leads the way as Odysseus, while Tom Holland will play his son, Telemachus. Also coming along for the journey are Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, and Elliot Page. Since you certainly read or at least learned the story in school, I needn't remind you that this is the tale of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, encountering one peril after another as he attempts to return home from the Trojan War to his suitor-beset wife Penelope.

After the R-rated "Oppenheimer" made nearly $1 billion globally against a $100 million budget, Nolan had carte blanche on his next project. Why did he choose to film "The Odyssey?" It was to scratch a childhood itch, all while doing something that had never been done before.

In an interview with Empire, Nolan said "The Odyssey" gave him the opportunity to make a new kind of mythological epic. Per the director:

"As a filmmaker, you're looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven't been done before. And what I saw is that all of this great mythological cinematic work that I had grown up with — Ray Harryhausen movies and other things — I'd never seen that done with the sort of weight and credibility that an A-budget and a big Hollywood, IMAX production could do."

Certainly, no one has attempted something of this scale on a $250 million budget with IMAX 70mm cameras. In terms of a big studio epic, the most recent example of a film in this vein is probably Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 film "Troy," which, despite the magnetic presence of Brad Pitt as Achilles, wound up feeling a bit anemic. Even Petersen's Director's Cut felt strangely hollow. (Nolan, as it happens, toyed with directing "Troy" himself at one point.)

I have no idea if Nolan's "The Odyssey" will deliver on its staggering promise, but I wouldn't bet against a man whose weakest film is the flawed, but still impressive "The Dark Knight Rises." Given the material and his genuine zeal for it, it's more likely he'll knock out one of the greatest movies ever made.

"The Odyssey" sails into theaters on July 17, 2026.