The speculation over Christopher Nolan’s next movie has come to an end. Universal revealed Monday that Nolan will adapt The Odyssey, the epic poem from Homer that follows Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan war.
“Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,” said the studio. “The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.”
Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron star in the feature.
Nolan has delved with period pieces before, including best picture winner Oppenheimer, which told the story of the creation of the Atomic Bomb, and The Prestige, an adaptation of Christopher Priest’s novel centering on two rival magicians amid the backdrop of 1890s London.
But The Odyssey is a marked change of pace for the filmmaker. Homer’s epic poem dates back to the 8th century BC and tells of gods, goddesses and monsters — the type of material foreign to Nolan’s work so far. Still, the filmmaker has dealt with plenty of fantastical material, including making Batman believable for post-9/11 audiences, and bringing realism to sci-fi notions such as shared dreams in Inception and intergalactic travel in Interstellar.
The epic poem has been adapted multiple times, including the Kirk Douglas starrer Ulysses, released in 1954. It also has inspired other films, including the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?, released in 2000. The story of the Trojan War made it to the screen with Troy, the 2004 movie that starred Brad Pitt as Achilles and featured Sean Bean as Odysseus. According to Troy director Wolfgang Petersen, Nolan himself was in the running for that movie, back before he made Batman Begins.
Nolan began his year winning his first Oscars in his decades-long career thanks to Oppenheimer, which netted him statues for best picture and best director. Nolan ended it with another honor, officially being knighted by King Charles in a ceremony last week.
