Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Is a Sequel to the Epic Movie He Turned Down Over 20 Years Ago

Christopher Nolan is one of the few directors whose name alone guarantees a cinematic event. His dedication to practical effects, large-format filmmaking, and complex narratives has cultivated a global audience that anticipates each new project with unparalleled excitement. After the critical and commercial success of biopic Oppenheimer, Nolan is turning his attention to one of the foundational texts of Western literature with an ambitious adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. With a cast led by Matt Damon as the beleaguered hero Odysseus, the film promises to be an epic rendered with Nolan’s signature technical precision. Curiously, this mythological undertaking also serves as a thematic sequel of sorts to a blockbuster film that Nolan abandoned over two decades ago.

Homer’s epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey, are intrinsically linked narratives that chronicle the beginning and end of the Trojan War saga. The Iliad focuses on the ten-year siege of Troy. Its plot is driven by the rage of warriors like Achilles and the desperate defense of the Trojan prince Hector. In contrast, The Odyssey is a tale of the grueling aftermath, detailing the decade-long journey of Odysseus as he attempts to return to his home in Ithaca. The poem explores the consequences of war, the challenges of homecoming, and the struggle to reclaim one’s identity after immense trauma. In short, one story depicts the conflict, while the other grapples with its enduring fallout. The Iliad was famously adapted for the screen in a 2004 epic, Troy, which Nolan was once set to direct.

Christopher Nolan Almost Directed 2004’s Troy

In the early 2000s, Christopher Nolan was a rising filmmaker who Warner Bros. considered for the sword-and-sandals epic Troy. Fresh off the success of Memento and Insomnia, Nolan met with the studio about directing the adaptation of The Iliad, but ultimately turned it down in favor of telling the origin story of DC’s Dark Knight. The decision led to Batman Begins, a film that launched The Dark Knight Trilogy and fundamentally altered superhero filmmaking, cementing Nolan’s status as an auteur capable of delivering character-driven blockbusters. His realistic take on Gotham City set a new standard for the genre and became Batman’s defining work for a generation of moviegoers, also influencing a wave of gritty and realistic superhero adaptations.

The version of Troy that reached theaters was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and featured a star-studded cast led by Brad Pitt (Achilles), Eric Bana (Hector), and Orlando Bloom (Paris). The film was a significant financial success, grossing nearly $500 million worldwide, but it received a mixed critical reception. Many critics praised its impressive scale and visceral battle sequences, but faulted its script for straying significantly from its mythological source material, most notably by removing the direct intervention of the Greek gods.

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Despite the lukewarm critical reception, Troy became a quintessential 2000s blockbuster, remembered for its spectacle but also for what some felt was a commercial approach that lacked deeper mystery. Now, more than twenty years after walking away from the war for Troy, Nolan’s journey comes full circle. By taking on The Odyssey, he returns to the world of Homeric heroes to explore the psychological and existential toll on a soldier desperate to find his way home.

One of the most significant departures Nolan’s film appears to be making from its spiritual predecessor is its full-throated embrace of the mythological. Where Troy stripped out the divine and presented the conflict as a purely human affair, the casting for The Odyssey confirms the gods will be active players.

For starters, Charlize Theron will play the enchantress Circe, a powerful sorceress who famously transforms Odysseus’s men into swine. Furthermore, reports indicate that Zendaya will portray Athena, Odysseus’s divine patron, and Robert Pattinson is rumored to take on the role of Poseidon, the sea god and the hero’s primary antagonist. This commitment to the supernatural elements is crucial for a faithful adaptation, as the gods are the architects of Odysseus’ suffering and salvation in Homer’s poem.

The Odyssey has recently wrapped filming and is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 17, 2026. 

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