“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns.”
In a first teaser — now playing in theaters ahead of screenings of Jurassic World Rebirth — Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey looks to be answering that call first put to page (or scroll) in Homer’s ancient Greek poem of the same name.
The clip first leaked online earlier on Tuesday, sparking a major fan frenzy. It provides the first official footage of what Universal is dubbing its “mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology.” The movie follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), king of Ithaca, who embarks on a perilous journey to return home to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, after the Trojan War.
It’s not certain when the teaser will be officially available online, but this is standard operating procedure for a Nolan joint. The initial teaser for his Oscar-winning 2023 juggernaut Oppenheimer also premiered first only in theaters.
As for what it shows, per the low-quality bootleg versions floating around the Internet, the clip begins with a lengthy shot of dark, open waters with cloudy skies overhead. A man’s voice can be heard saying, “Darkness. Zeus’ law smashed to pieces. A kingdom without a king since my master died. He knew it was an unwinnable war. And then, somehow, he won it.”
Waves wash ashore on a beach, and what looks like the Trojan horse is first seen in shadow and then from afar in profile. Then, Tom Holland, who is playing Telemachus, is shown talking with an unknown character played by Jon Bernthal.
“I have to find out what happened to my father. When did you last see him,” Telemachus says, to which Bernthal’s character asks loudly to a packed room, “Who has a story about Odysseus? Huh? You? You? You have a story? Some say he’s rich. Some say he’s poor. Some say he perished. Some say he’s imprisoned.”
Then the clip cuts to a man — presumably Damon’s Odysseus — drifting at sea on a piece of wood. The teaser ends with the title, followed by the release date of July 17, 2026.
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Damon was first confirmed to be playing the titular hero in a first-look reveal at his character shared by Universal in February, showing the Oscar winner decked out in ancient Greek attire. The project marks Damon’s third time working with Nolan after key roles in Interstellar and Oppenheimer, but it is his first time leading one of the director’s films.
Alongside Damon, Bernthal, and Holland, the film is set to star Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, and Will Yun Lee.
In addition to his director duties, Nolan also penned the screenplay and will produce the film alongside his wife, Emma Thomas.