Universal has released the first teaser for “The Odyssey,” Christopher Nolan‘s highly anticipated adaptation of Homer’s legendary saga.
The film follows the Greek hero Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, as he travels the long and winding path back home after the Trojan War. Universal released a first-look photo of Damon in costume back in February. Damon stars alongside Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo and more. In addition to directing, Nolan wrote the script and produced the film alongside his wife, Emma Thomas.
The trailer shows Odysseus get shipwrecked along with his army and make his way back home during a treacherous journey. He and his soldiers are also seen inside the infamous Trojan horse, which was previous teased in a six-minute clip screened before Imax 70mm showings of “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another.” Odysseus walks across land, sails by sea and treks through caves, including one where an ominously large beast appears in the shadows. There are also brief shots of Holland as Odysseus’ son Telemachus and Hathaway as Penelope, Odysseus’ wife.
Universal said last December that the film would be “shot across the world using brand new Imax film technology.” Universal executive Jim Orr teased at CinemaCon that audiences could expect “a visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would quite likely be proud of.”
Leguizamo compared Nolan’s work ethic to that of an independent filmmaker. “He’s not doing it by committee, he’s not doing it by what the studio says,” the actor said during a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“He’s like an indie filmmaker but with crazy money,” Leguizamo added.
Nolan’s most recent blockbuster was “Oppenheimer,” which won seven Oscars in 2024. The filmmaker told Variety in 2023 that he wasn’t sure which project he’d tackle after “Oppenheimer,” but added, “Whatever I do, I have to feel like I own it completely. I have to make it original to me: The initial seed of an idea may come from elsewhere, but it has to go through my fingers on a keyboard and come out through my eyes alone.”
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“The Odyssey” arrives in theatres July 17.
From Variety US