A new trailer for Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey dropped Monday night and it does not disappoint.
Universal released the latest look at the Greek epic from Homer. It features Matt Damon‘s Odysseus doing battle with the Cyclops. It also shows Robert Pattinson‘s villainous Antinous trying to take the throne of Ithaca. The trailer debuted on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, on which the full cast list was also confirmed.
Damon stars as Odysseus, with Tom Holland as his son Telemachus. Anne Hathaway plays his wife Penelope. Charlize Theron appears as the nymph Calypso. Pattinson plays the conniving suitor Antinous, who wants to marry the queen and rule Ithaca.
The Trailer
The trailer opens with Theron’s Calypso questioning Odysseus about what he remembers. Much of the new footage focuses on Pattinson’s Antinous and his quiet manipulation. He favors whispered plots and sidelong glances over regular dialogue. He inches ever closer to Hathaway’s waiting Penelope.
The footage also reveals the story’s famous Cyclops, already holding one of Odysseus’ soldiers. Beyond that, the trailer contains battle carnage from Troy. It shows what seems to be an encounter with the Laestrygonians. There is even a quick look at Odysseus’ dog, Argos.
Nolan used his Colbert appearance to break down the structure of the film. He revealed that The Odyssey unfolds in a “non-linear way.” The story starts in Ithaca, and they are already aware Odysseus left 20 years ago and never came back, said Nolan.
Nolan embraced the superhero metaphor after Colbert brought up the cast’s superhero background. He feel like with Homer they’re dealing with “the Marvel of its day,” he said.
“It’s very direct, this desire for us to feel or believe gods could walk amongst us, and I think the modern comic book is kind of our expression of that.”
Nolan also noted he may be among the last filmmakers to realize Holland’s talent, concluding that now that he’s worked with him, he’d “love to work with him again,” calling him “an incredible talent.”
Technical marvels in The Odyssey
Beyond the film’s stacked cast, its technical ambitions are just as staggering. The Odyssey is the first narrative film to shoot entirely with IMAX cameras. Its $250 million net budget marks the most expensive film in Nolan’s career. Filming occurred from February to August 2025 across Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara, and Malta, as well as on a soundstage in Los Angeles.
The film shares its July 17 release date with Disney and Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, creating one of the most competitive summer box office showdowns in recent memory, with Holland and Zendaya gracing the big screen in both films at the same time.
Nolan wrote the screenplay based on the ancient poem and produced alongside Emma Thomas under their Syncopy banner. The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17, 2026.
