With $264 million in global box office receipts on its debut, rave reviews from critics—highlighted by Peter Bradshaw’s five-star rating for “The Guardian”—and fans traveling across continents to secure a seat in the few Imax 70mm screenings, “The Odyssey” is establishing itself as the cinematic phenomenon of summer 2026.
Moreover, the film is expected to reign at the box office for weeks, in a summer season that offers very little real competition, apart from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”.
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After the triumph of “Oppenheimer” with the Best Picture award at the 2024 Oscars, Christopher Nolan realized he had been given a golden opportunity to materialize an early dream: bringing the Homeric epic to the cinema. “I have a window right now where I can make a film that would otherwise be impossible,” he recently told the Guardian.
Every cent of the colossal $250 million budget is visible on screen. The landscapes of Ithaca are breathtaking, while the protagonist’s descent into the underworld takes on an ominous atmosphere thanks to filming on the black sand beaches of Iceland, under the pale light of the midnight sun.
To capture the diversity of the landscapes, the director chose six locations: Scotland, Greece, Italy, Malta, and, in a decision that sparked controversy, Western Sahara. This region under Moroccan control is often considered Africa’s last colony, a territory the UN still does not recognize as decolonized.
The majestic sequences in the Mediterranean were shot on the open sea, where Nolan refused computer-generated imagery, preferring the real, turbulent ocean with the crew aboard the world’s only functional Viking ship. A replica of the vessel was used for scenes filmed in a giant water tank in the Universal Studios parking lot. Matt Damon described the experience as challenging: “We had two jet engines, like those from a Boeing 737, blasting water at us. It was clear it was the hardest thing to make the water work in a controlled environment.”
For two decades, Nolan has been a passionate advocate for Imax technology. “The Dark Knight” in 2008 was the first Hollywood blockbuster to use these cameras for action scenes, and ever since they have become an essential element in his arsenal. For “The Odyssey”, he used six Imax cameras, each enclosed in an isolation box to dampen their powerful noise.
The team also collaborated with a lighting company to create fixtures dubbed “pyrohedrons”, fire pyramids that masterfully mimicked the flickering glow of flames over interiors and night scenes. “I wanted the camera to capture exactly what the human eye would see,” Nolan explained to the New York Times.
In the Homeric poem, the gods are selfish entities that interfere in mortal affairs out of whims, desires, and personal preferences, as translator Emily Wilson notes. However, Nolan’s interpretation of the interaction between deities, demigods, and humans is more straightforward, with Zendaya’s Athena appearing less as a celestial power and more as a loyal partner to Odysseus.
Charlize Theron is always a pleasure to watch, but the nymph Calypso in Nolan’s hands can be perceived as not quite powerful enough to sustain a large part of the narrative. Homer describes her as a cruel captor, while the director portrays her as a lonely and somewhat sad being. It remains to be imagined what Theron would have achieved with a harsher version of the character.
Some viewers may also miss Nausicaa, the princess who in the original work ironically accused Odysseus of being “a man without promises”, a line that would have brought a welcome touch of humor to the film.
When Lupita Nyong’o was chosen as Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships, right-wing commentators reacted with their usual thoughtlessness. The irony lies in the fact that the character has very little screen time: when Telemachus goes to meet her in Sparta, the legendary beauty is almost silent, with an unsightly scar on the left side of her face. A bold decision by Nolan, though it remains odd that the origin of this wound is never revealed.
Anne Hathaway’s Penelope is a dignified and cunning figure, even though her palace is filled with suitors. “We wanted to make sure she didn’t just look like a woman mourning her husband,” explained costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, who dressed the actress in the red and blue colors of Ithaca. “She always looked like the queen.” Hathaway herself described the character as a volcano slowly simmering until the final eruption, where she curses the pretenders and leads the unfaithful servant to her death as the palace is engulfed by battle.
One of the most touching performances comes from John Leguizamo, almost unrecognizable with white hair in the role of Eumaeus, the nearly blind shepherd, loyal to Odysseus until the end. Benny Safdie brings a fearsome presence as Agamemnon, in a clever choice against type. And not all appearances were planned: a pod of dolphins that accidentally passed by during filming became part of the final cut.
The biggest surprise remains rapper Travis Scott in the role of a rhapsode, who opens the film by recounting Odysseus’s exploits in Troy.
It is still early for precise predictions about next year’s Oscars, as the most talked-about films will appear at the autumn festivals. However, Nolan remains one of the Academy’s favored directors, having won seven awards from 13 nominations for “Oppenheimer” and three from eight for “Dunkirk”. “The Odyssey” seems destined for nominations in major categories like Best Picture and Directing, as well as most technical categories, while the acting races remain uncertain.
There are strong arguments that the last half hour of the film is its most powerful part, where Odysseus returns home with the help of Athena and infiltrates disguised as a beggar. After Penelope’s bow challenge, he reveals his identity. The ensuing confrontation is not Homer’s merciless massacre, but a fair fight. Nevertheless, the suitors, led by Robert Pattinson’s treacherous Antinous, cannot stand up to the master of the house. His return is bitter, interspersed with flashbacks to the “fires of anarchy and pain” of sacked Troy.
For Nolan, war has no glory, a common theme with “Dunkirk” and “Oppenheimer”. As Odysseus says: “We broke the fragile link that connected people.” Although the true victors here are few, Nolan’s ending is more hopeful than Homer’s. While the poet closed the poem with plans for raiding, the director sees a less dark future for the couple. In a beautiful coastal scene, Odysseus and Penelope set off westward to honor the spirits of the fallen men, leaving the throne of Ithaca to Telemachus, who now seems to have finally found his place.
