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

The Odyssey: Nolan Is Running The Production Like It's An Indie Film

John Leguizamo says that director Christopher Nolan is running the set of The Odyssey as if it were an indie film.

If you've spent any time online, there is a decent chance you've seen some set pictures from The Odyssey floating around. Director Christopher Nolan and Universe are not doing a very good job of keeping that set closed. You would think someone who is such a proponent of the theatrical experience like Nolan wouldn't want people to see set photos, but here we are. Now that people are filming, we are starting to learn more about how Nolan runs this frankly massive movie. The Odyssey isn't just massive in scope in terms of the story but also massive with the cast and the budget. However, according to John Leguizamo in an interview with Morning Joe on MSNBC (via Total Film), Nolan isn't letting all of that massive stuff get to him. Leguizamo explained, "He's got a crazy budget; it's not small, but he runs it like an indie film because he's not doing it by committee; he's not doing it by what the studio says. He's like an indie filmmaker, but with crazy money."

It's always good to hear about directors who maintain the same mindset they had when working on tiny movies with micro budgets. It's not just about being humble; those sets are where you learned how to be a director (or actor or producer or anyone who has worked on independent films and is now working on blockbuster films), and that's important. The Odyssey is going to be a big project for Nolan to juggle and manage the set like there isn't what we can only assume is a minimum of $200 million on the line, half a dozen of the biggest stars working right now, and the follow-up film after you turned a R-rated character biopic into an Oscar-winning juggernaut, is probably the only way anyone could stay sane.

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, Samantha Morton, Iddo Goldberg, John Leguizamo, and Michael Vlamis 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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