‘The Odyssey’ Movie: Cast, Release Date & Updates on the Christopher Nolan Movie

Christopher Nolan is taking a crack at adapting Homer’s Greek poem, The Odyssey, into an IMAX movie fit for the big screen. With a star-studded cast behind Matt Damon as the lead, the epic is expected to be an immersive, dramatic and thrilling ride for viewers when it hits theaters later this month.

As seen in the film’s final “countdown” trailer, which Universal released in the first week of July, Damon’s Odysseus is faced with a long and difficult journey across the sea following the Trojan War.

What Is The Odyssey About?

Homer’s The Odyssey follows the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, as he embarks on a long and dangerous journey back home after the Trojan War. The story chronicles his encounters with other mythical entities, including sirens, a witch-goddess and more, while Odysseus tries to reunite with his wife, Penelope.

When Does Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Come Out?

Nolan’s The Odyssey will be released in theaters on July 17, 2026, with early showings beginning the afternoon of July 16. The film is rated R, runs 2 hours and 52 minutes, and will have exclusive access to IMAX screens for the first three weeks of its release. It is reportedly the most expensive movie of the filmmaker’s career, and it made history as the first feature ever shot entirely with IMAX film cameras.

The Oppenheimer director teased that his upcoming cinematic experience “truly contains all stories” during a November 2025 interview with Empire.

“As a filmmaker, you’re looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before,” Nolan explained. “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.”

Who Is in The Odyssey Cast?

As previously stated, Damon is leading the cast in the role of Odysseus, the ancient Greek legendary figure. He is flanked by co-stars Anne Hathaway as Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Zendaya as the goddess Athena and Charlize Theron as the goddess-witch Circe.

The rest of the extensive cast features Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, Will Yun Lee and Bill Irwin.

In January 2026, it was revealed that rapper Travis Scott was cast in the film during a teaser clip that aired during the AFC Championship football game. Scott plays a bard, and Nolan has explained that he chose the rapper to draw a connection between hip-hop and the oral poetry tradition through which Homer’s epic was originally passed down.