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By
El Kuiper
Published 55 minutes ago
El is a Senior news and reviews writer for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel.
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Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is one of the most anticipated films of 2026, but nearly 20 years ago, the acclaimed filmmaker almost directed another ancient Greek myth. Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, and more, The Odyssey is Nolan's take on Homer's classic work, which follows the hero Odysseus (Damon) on his decade-long journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
The Odyssey is a sequel, of sorts, to Homer's first work, the Iliad, which chronicles the end of the Trojan War, focusing on the exploits of the warrior Achilles and the Trojan prince, Hector. The Iliad was also the inspiration for director Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 epic Troy, starring Brad Pitt as Achilles and Eric Bana as Hector. Sean Bean had a minor role in the film as Odysseus.
Interestingly, Christopher Nolan recently revealed that Petersen wasn't always meant to direct Troy — it was Nolan himself. In Empire's January 2026 cover story for The Odyssey, Nolan told the magazine that he was "originally hired by Warner Bros. to direct Troy."
The Oscar winner continued: "Wolfgang [Petersen] had developed it, and so when the studio decided not to proceed with his superhero movie ['Batman Vs Superman'], he wanted it back. Fair enough. But at the end of the day, it was a world that I was very interested to explore. So it's been at the back of my mind for a very long time. Certain images, particularly. How I wanted to handle the Trojan horse, things like that."
While Petersen's Troy became a financial hit, earning nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of $175 million, it wasn't a critical darling, with viewers praising the film's entertainment value but mourning the loss of the original story's supernatural elements. Troy holds a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score of 53% and an audience score of 74%.
Troy 2004
Adjusted for 2025
Box Office
$497,409,852
$855,260,560.77
Budget
$175,000,000
$300,899,947.06
By 2004, Nolan was best known for his work directing Memento (2000), starring Guy Pearce as a man with anterograde amnesia who tattoos clues on his body to hunt down his wife's killer. In 2005, Batman Begins came along, and the rest is history. Nolan has gone on to become a household name and one of the most bankable directors in Hollywood, and The Odyssey is perhaps his most daring film yet.
Nolan's interest in Greek mythology and Homer's work didn't start with Troy, however. He shared a moment from his childhood with Empire that played an important role in his appreciation for narrative and ancient, mythological storytelling. "I remember seeing a school play of Ulysses (the Latin variant of Odysseus) when I was five or six years old," Nolan began.
"The older kids were doing it. I remember the Sirens and him being strapped to the mast and things like that. But that's barely a conscious memory. I think it's in all of us, really. And when you start to break down the text and adapt it, you find that all of these other films — and all the films I've worked on — you know, they're all from The Odyssey. Emma [Thomas, Nolan's wife and fellow producer] said it best when we first announced the project: it's foundational."
Nolan may not have had the chance to direct Troy, but IMAX screenings for The Odyssey have already sold out a year in advance, cementing Christopher Nolan's next project as one of the biggest theatrical releases of 2026, if not the 2020s as a whole.
The Odyssey premieres in theaters on July 17, 2026.
The Odyssey
Like Follow Followed Adventure Drama Release Date July 17, 2026 Director Christopher Nolan Writers Christopher Nolan Producers Emma ThomasCast
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Matt Damon
Odysseus
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Tom Holland
Telemachus
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Zendaya
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Anne Hathaway
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The Odyssey
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