Christopher Nolan wraps ‘The Odyssey’ with all-star cast and record budget

Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated adaptation of The Odyssey has officially wrapped filming after an ambitious six-month global shoot. Production began in February 2025 and travelled through an impressive list of locations, including Italy, Malta, Morocco, Greece, Scotland, Iceland and Western Sahara, before concluding in Los Angeles.

Based on Homer’s legendary Greek epic, the film will follow the perilous journey of Odysseus and promises to be one of Nolan’s most visually ambitious projects to date. The cast is stacked with Hollywood’s biggest names: Matt Damon takes on the role of Odysseus, Anne Hathaway plays Penelope, Tom Holland appears as Telemachus, Zendaya portrays Athena, Lupita Nyong’o plays Calypso, Robert Pattinson becomes Hermes and Charlize Theron takes on Circe. The ensemble hints at a sweeping, character-driven spectacle.

With a reported budget of $250 million, Nolan has pushed the technical boundaries again, using brand-new IMAX cameras under the lens of frequent collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema. IMAX 70mm screenings are already a hot commodity, with many selling out within 24 hours of release and scalpers listing tickets for over $1,000 a pair.

Nolan’s previous ventures into historical epics like Oppenheimer have shown his talent for balancing massive scale with intimate drama, and The Odyssey is expected to blend Greek myth with the director’s signature narrative complexity. Fans are already speculating about how he might handle the poem’s non-linear structure, mythical creatures and supernatural elements while keeping his grounded, practical-filmmaking style intact.

Set for release on 17 July 2026, the film is positioned as one of the year’s most anticipated blockbusters. With the shoot now complete, attention turns to the post-production process, where Nolan is likely to spend the next year fine-tuning every frame of this ambitious epic.