When it comes to Christopher Nolan, the iconic filmmaker always delivers something completely different with each of his projects, and 2026's The Odyssey will follow King Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, on his decade-long journey home from fighting in the Trojan War, facing challenges from both gods and monsters.
While The Odyssey has been hyped as another blockbuster event and Nolan's most anticipated movie, this fantasy is very unusual for him. Not only is the director exploring a new genre with The Odyssey, but he will likely be forced to work outside his style of practical filmmaking to adapt Homer's story for the big screen. While this film is an unexpected project for Nolan, it should work to the director's advantage and make it a much more satisfying cinematic experience.
The Odyssey Means Nolan Will Have To Use A Lot More CGI
Christopher Nolan Won't Be Able To Go 100% Practical For The Odyssey
Nolan is famous for using practical effects in his films as much as possible, including in fantastical movies like Inception and Interstellar. He even went as far as to claim that his movie Oppenheimer had "zero CGI shots," even when some supplemental VFX and CGI work was done on existing shots during post-production. Despite this, Nolan has always tried to make practical effects the basis of whatever he shoots. This style of filmmaking is one of the reasons his choice to adapt Homer's Odyssey was so surprising.
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Since Homer's ancient Greek epic features mythological monsters like the giant cyclops Polyphemus and the even more colossal sea monster Scylla, it will be a challenge for the filmmaker to bring this classic tale to life without relying on some CGI. Though the cyclops will reportedly be brought to life using giant animatronics, Nolan will likely be forced to use some CGI on top of that to present these legendary creatures as realistically as possible.
The Odyssey Will Be Nolan's First Fantasy Movie
Christopher Nolan Will Explore Unfamiliar Regions With The Odyssey
Nolan is known for creating films with some heightened fantastical elements, from Inception's mind-bending journey through the dream world and the fifth-dimensional beings creating wormholes in Interstellar to the characters in Tenet inverting time and shooting bullets in reverse. However, he's always tried to make these stories sound realistic by relying on scientific facts and theories. Nevertheless, The Odyssey will be the only pure fantasy movie in Nolan's filmography, making it a very unusual film at this point in his career.
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There's no scientific basis for the fantastical and supernatural events that occur in Homer's Odyssey, which shows Greek deities appearing to humans and using their powers to influence their adventures. In the source material, Odysseus even travels to the Underworld itself while trying to get back to Ithaca. Nolan won't be able to ground this mythological story in reality with science like with his other movies, especially since Homer's epic is set in an ancient world ruled by gods and magic.
The Odyssey Will Challenge Ideas Of A Nolan Movie
Christopher Nolan Will Defy Expectations About Himself As A Filmmaker
After over 20 years of working as a blockbuster director, Christopher Nolan has made several stories that have given people an idea of what makes a film "Nolanesque." The director has often made films that feature nonlinear narratives, use as many practical effects as possible, and upend people's perception of time and reality. Though Interstellar featured some characters, themes, and plot points similar to those found in The Odyssey, the latter should make for a very different Nolan film than what people are used to seeing.
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Has Already Set A New IMAX Record
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While Nolan may have to follow the source material more than he'd like, The Odyssey might present the kind of vast, nonlinear narrative seen in his previous films. Specifically, it seems that two set photos of The Odyssey, it looks like the film will follow the father and son on their respective journeys from the poem, which shows the latter learning more about his father's adventures from the people who knew him.
Like in Nolan's other films, The Odyssey could also explore existential themes like free will as both father and son face the intervention of the gods and struggle to reunite with each other. Nolan could also explore another morally complex character through Odysseus, since in the source material, he has romantic relationships with Circe and Calypso and takes far too long to return to his wife and son.
The Odyssey Being Different Is A Good Thing
Christopher Nolan Doing Something New Makes The Odyssey A Surprising And Exciting Film
Though The Odyssey may have seemed like an odd choice for Nolan when deciding on his next film, the fact that this is an unusual project for him should work in his favor. Films like Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet have been part of a trend of high-concept sci-fi films with complicated stories made by Nolan that audiences have begun to expect from him. By shifting to old-school fantasy with the production of The Odyssey, the director can defy people's expectations and deliver a new and surprising blockbuster that everyone can enjoy.
Though Nolan has always been a unique filmmaker, he could appeal to fantasy fans and present Homer's Odyssey as a cinematic epic that will send them back to sword-and-sandals classics like Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, and Spartacus.
Nolan may come across as a modern filmmaker far too removed from traditional fantasy. However, people can find familiar traces of classic cinema that have inspired him, making it easier for his movies to appeal to audiences. Specifically, Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet have been his own versions of older hits like The Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the early James Bond movies. Though Nolan has always been a unique filmmaker, he could appeal to fantasy audiences and present Homer's Odyssey as a cinematic epic that will send them back to sword-and-sandal classics like Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, and Spartacus.
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In the end, Nolan has always tried to surprise audiences with his films, and his production of The Odyssey has itself been a surprise. As a fantasy epic based on an ancient Greek poem, The Odyssey will likely challenge Nolan as a filmmaker by forcing him to go against his usual quirks as an artist to properly adapt Homer's story. However, the iconic director could still find a way to present his distinctive brand of storytelling while providing something fresh and exciting for moviegoers to experience in 2026.
