FILM · 2026 · UK
The Odyssey
- Directed by
- Christopher Nolan
- Runtime
- 173 min
- Studio
- Universal Pictures, Syncopy
42 archived facts 6 topics 3 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.
Summary: TMDB
10 Facts From the Making of The Odyssey
- #003
Christopher Nolan was confirmed to be writing and producing The Odyssey with Emma Thomas through their production company Syncopy, with filming scheduled to begin in early 2025.
- #004
Filming took place between February and August 2025 in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara and Malta, as well as at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. With a budget of roughly 250 million dollars, the production became one of the most expensive works of Nolan's career.
- #006
Universal announced in December 2024 that Christopher Nolan's new film would be The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem, described by the studio as a "mythic action epic" to be filmed worldwide.
- #008
The logline and premise details of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey were kept largely secret compared to his previous films, prompting speculation that included rumors of a vampire period piece, a Blue Thunder reboot or an adaptation of The Prisoner, all of which were debunked.
- #014
Christopher Nolan called The Odyssey the largest and most challenging production of his career because of its scale.
- #016
Nolan said he adapted the Odyssey because no major Hollywood studio had previously made a large-scale production of it, which he called an odd gap in movie history.
- #019
Nolan studied the Odyssey and translations by classicists Emily Wilson, E. V. Rieu and Robert Fagles, wrote the script in a non-linear fashion, and made alterations such as giving more prominence to Odysseus's dog Argos, adding interactions between Odysseus and Telemachus, humanizing Circe as unsettling yet sympathetic, and complicating the reunion of Helen of Troy and Menelaus; he was interested in portraying Odysseus's cleverness and inventiveness, citing Wilson's 2017 translation.
- #021
Christopher Nolan named Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev (1966) and Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) as major inspirations for The Odyssey, especially for its visual style and atmospheric tone.
- #022
Christopher Nolan also drew on Greek mythology–inspired films from his youth for The Odyssey, particularly the work of animator and special effects artist Ray Harryhausen.
- #034
Christopher Nolan said the production researched the fragmentary archaeological records of the Bronze Age and Ancient Greece during Homer's life to depict armour, weapons and ships. He explained that the oldest depictions of Homeric characters show them in the manner of people living in Homer's time, arguing there is a strong case for portraying things that way because that is how the first audience received the story.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Vikipedi (TR)
- Wikipedia The Odyssey (2026 film) — Wikipedia
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