Posted in: Movies, Universal | Tagged: christopher nolan, the odyssey

The Odyssey: Matt Damon Is Odysseus In A First-Look Image

Universal Pictures has shared a first-look image from Christopher Nolan's big screen adaptation of The Odyssey, featuring Matt Damon as Odysseus.

Has production on The Odyssey started? Maybe it seemed like the summer was the plan, but this new image released on the official X/Twitter account for the movie seems to imply that things are either very far along in pre-production or they have kicked off. There is a chance that this is just pre-production and making sure everything is set and ready to go. We also have our first confirmed bit of casting. Now we know that Matt Damon is Odysseus, and from the image, we get a look at his costume. As for the rest of the extremely impressive cast, your guess is as good as ours. There were rumors for a hot minute that Tom Holland was going to be the star of the film, but that doesn't appear to be the case here unless something weird is going on. This is a Christopher Nolan film, so something weird might be going on.

Christopher Nolan Returning To Universal For The Odyssey Makes Total Sense

At the beginning of October, it was officially announced that Christopher Nolan would be returning to Universal for his next film following the success of Oppenheimer. It seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Nolan's relationship with Warner Bros. Universal, which appears to be giving him whatever he wants, which makes sense considering the whole Barbeheimer thing, the box office, and the awards seasons. Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, and Samantha Morton have reportedly joined the cast, and the untitled film was given a prime-time release date of July 17, 2026. On December 24, 2024, it was announced on X/Twitter that Nolan would be adapting the classic, The Odyssey: "Christopher Nolan's next film 'The Odyssey' is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer's foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026."

What happened with Oppenheimer in the summer of 2023 was one of those beautiful and possibly once-in-a-lifetime moments. The way the world leaned into the Barbenheimer thing and proved that there was space for two excellent films to open simultaneously without cannibalizing each other was almost unheard of. People will try to make it happen again, but it was an organic thing that came about with no influence from studio marketing. Studio marketing and everyone involved decided that leaning in was the way to go, and it worked out well for everyone.

Barbie ended up with a total box office of $1.45 billion and a place in the pop culture landscape that isn't going away anytime soon. Nolan's Oppenheimer walked away with a sweet $976 million, becoming the third highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time [at the time of writing] and securing its place in the pop culture conversation by becoming a slow-moving character piece that did numbers. Oppenheimer also won seven Academy awards, including the coveted Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. So it's not surprising that Universal happily courted Nolan again and is likely doing exactly what Warner Bros. did in the hay day of their partnership: writing him a blank check and setting him loose on a movie set.

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