Development and casting reunited with
Universal Pictures to develop
The Odyssey as his follow-up to
Oppenheimer By November 2023, director
Christopher Nolan had yet to decide what his next film would be after
Oppenheimer (2023). While he was receptive to various ideas for his follow-up, the director felt he would have to "own it completely". After winning the
Academy Awards for
Best Picture and
Best Director for
Oppenheimer in March 2024, Nolan began writing the script for his next film. In May 2024, Nolan's wife and producing partner,
Emma Thomas, said that following
Oppenheimer success, the duo felt they had an opportunity to explore unlimited possibilities but had yet to deliberate practicalities. Nolan was revealed in October to be developing his next film at
Universal Pictures, after working with that studio on
Oppenheimer. Nolan was confirmed to be writing the script and producing the film once again with Thomas through their production company,
Syncopy.
Matt Damon was in talks to star in the film, after collaborating with Nolan on
Oppenheimer and
Interstellar (2014), and filming was slated to begin in early 2025. Unlike
Oppenheimer, which Universal acquired at auction, this film was set up directly at the studio and given a release date of July 17, 2026. The film's
logline and additional details of its premise were kept largely secretive compared to Nolan's previous films, which prompted much speculation about its subject matter. This included rumors that it would either be a vampire
period piece, a
reboot of the 1983 helicopter action-thriller film
Blue Thunder, or an adaptation of the British spy television series
The Prisoner (1967–68), which Nolan was previously attached to in 2009, but all of these were debunked. Nolan later reflected that the "disadvantage of never telling people what we're doing" was the invention and circulation of rumors, but he also enjoyed them. Damon was confirmed to star later in October when
Tom Holland was cast. Previous Nolan collaborators
Anne Hathaway—who starred in
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and
Interstellar—and
Robert Pattinson, who starred in
Tenet (2020), joined the cast in November, alongside
Zendaya,
Lupita Nyong'o, and
Charlize Theron. Damon, Holland, Hathaway, and Pattinson were all set for lead roles in the film, with Nyong'o and Zendaya having supporting roles. In December 2024, Universal announced Nolan's new film as
The Odyssey, an adaptation of
Homer's
ancient Greek epic poem the
Odyssey. The studio described the film as a "mythic action epic" that would be filmed worldwide. Nolan was previously attached to direct the film
Troy (2004)—based on Homer's
Odyssey predecessor the
Iliad—that
Wolfgang Petersen had developed for
Warner Bros. Pictures, before Petersen chose to direct
Troy instead of a planned
Batman vs. Superman film, and Nolan subsequently made
Batman Begins (2005).
The Odyssey was expected to be the most expensive film of
Nolan's career with a net budget of $250 million. Nolan and Thomas described
The Odyssey as "foundational" because it incorporates aspects of the horror,
mystery, romance, and thriller genres of stories. Nolan sought to elevate his work and experience with
The Odyssey and drew inspiration from various
Greek mythology–inspired films he watched growing up, particularly the works of animator and special effects artist
Ray Harryhausen. Production designer
Ruth De Jong and costume designer
Ellen Mirojnick returned to work with Nolan from
Oppenheimer. To combine the
Odyssey fantastical elements with Nolan's use of "tactile realism", the director chose to take a realistic approach in depicting the evidence and actions of the gods through natural phenomena that were once considered "supernatural" during the story's time period. Nolan called this a "big breakthrough creatively". Further casting took place throughout early 2025, with prior Nolan collaborators
Benny Safdie,
Elliot Page,
Himesh Patel,
Bill Irwin,
Josh Stewart, Anthony Molinari, and
James Remar joining. Additional actors cast alongside them were
Jon Bernthal,
John Leguizamo,
Samantha Morton,
Jesse Garcia,
Will Yun Lee,
Rafi Gavron,
Shiloh Fernandez,
Mia Goth,
Corey Hawkins,
Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales,
Maurice Compte,
Michael Vlamis,
Iddo Goldberg,
Ryan Hurst, and
Jovan Adepo.
Cosmo Jarvis had also been cast, but dropped out shortly before filming began due to a scheduling conflict and was subsequently replaced by
Logan Marshall-Green.
Skeet Ulrich said he unsuccessfully read for a role in the film in early February alongside two other actors. Universal confirmed that Damon was portraying
Odysseus in the middle of February, ahead of the start of filming later that month. This came after some rumors had circulated that Holland could be playing the role; Holland was later confirmed to be portraying Odysseus's son,
Telemachus.
Filming Principal photography lasted for 91 days between February 25 and August 8, 2025, and
wrapped nine days ahead of schedule.
Location shooting took place across five countries: Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, and Scotland.
Hoyte van Hoytema reunited with Nolan as cinematographer. After using
IMAX 70 mm film extensively since
The Dark Knight (2008),
The Odyssey is Nolan's first film to be shot entirely with
IMAX film cameras, using a newly developed lighter and quieter version along with existing technology. Over of IMAX 70 mm film was used to shoot
The Odyssey. The production used the
working title ''Charlie's Tale''. Nolan sought to embrace the "physicality of the real world" by filming on location to help inform the storytelling and capture "how hard those journeys would have been for people. And the leap of faith that was being made in an unmapped, uncharted world." The director felt the shifting weather conditions amplified this practical approach because of the challenges it posed. The first scenes were filmed in late February at the
Aït Benhaddou village near
Ouarzazate, Morocco, to depict the city of
Troy at the end of the
Trojan War in an appetizer sequence before the bulk of
The Odyssey, as well as in the cities of
Essaouira and
Marrakesh. Filming took place in the
Messenia unit of the
Peloponnese region in Greece, from March 10 to 21, at
Pylos, the
Methoni Castle, the Almyrolakkos beach in Yialova, and Nestor's Cave in the
Voidokilia beach for scenes featuring the
Cyclops Polyphemus, as well as at an archaeological palace site in
Acrocorinth,
Corinth. The production partnered with
Faliro House Productions's NAF subsidiary for filming in Greece, which lasted three weeks and included a retroactive 40% cash
rebate for the production. By March 27, the production moved to the
Aegadian Islands in Sicily, Italy, to film on the island of
Favignana, believed to be the location known as the "goat island" in the poem. Water-borne filming subsequently took place from April 15 to May 15 throughout the
Aeolian Islands of
Lipari,
Basiluzzo, and
Vulcano for scenes featuring the mythological island of
Aeolia. Filming in these regions was subject to certain safeguarding restrictions from
local ordinances. For the maritime sequences, the production used the largest modern
Viking longship, the
Draken Harald Hårfagre, which doubled as an ancient Greek warship that the actors portraying Odysseus's crew commanded. Nolan described filming at sea as a particularly primal experience. Halfway through shooting by early May, filming occurred in Los Angeles on the film's only set constructed on a studio
sound stage, before shooting at
Findlater Castle in
Moray,
Scotland, in early June. For ten days in late June, the production partnered with
Truenorth in remote regions of
Iceland, including the harbour
Landeyjahöfn, the
Hjörleifshöfði mountain, the river
Markarfljót, and the
Snæfellsnes peninsula, primarily to shoot scenes on their
black sand beaches for the
Greek underworld of Hades, before returning to Scotland for scenes at the
Buckie Harbour along the
Moray Firth coast and at the secluded Sunnyside Beach near
Cullen, Moray. Filming took place in the
Culbin Forest from July 3 to 16, before returning to Findlater Castle through July 25, with Theron filming her scenes as
Calypso during the last two weeks in July. city of
Dakhla, Western Sahara, which garnered some criticism. Filming took place between July 17 and 22, with Damon and Zendaya, at the White Dune near
Dakhla, Western Sahara, a city under
Moroccan occupation since 1975. The UN-recognized
Polisario Front and organizers of the
Sahara International Film Festival decried the decision to film in Western Sahara as
whitewashing Morocco's colonialism. The festival's organizers called for the production to be halted, but filming in the territory had already concluded. They subsequently released a statement calling on Nolan to obtain consent from "the legal representatives of the
Sahrawi people" or otherwise remove the scenes shot in Dakhla. This statement was signed by several prominent figures, including Spanish actors
Carlos and
Javier Bardem,
Luis Tosar,
Carolina Yuste, and
Juan Diego Botto, Spanish filmmakers
Rodrigo Sorogoyen and
Icíar Bollaín, and Sahrawi human rights defender
Elghalia Djimi. Meanwhile, the
Moroccan Cinematographic Center called
The Odyssey an important production to Morocco's promotion of its film industry and said that it was the first major American film to be filmed in that territory. Filming also took place in
Malta before concluding back in Los Angeles. Some filming was also expected to occur in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Post-production DNEG and
Wētā Workshop are providing the film's
visual effects. Some of Nolan's previous collaborators returning for
The Odyssey are visual effects supervisor
Andrew Jackson, editor
Jennifer Lame, and composer
Ludwig Göransson. == Marketing ==