Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is a masterpiece Homer 'would quite likely be proud of,' Universal boss says

Universal has shared new details about Christopher Nolan's upcoming film adaptation of The Odyssey.

The studio's distribution chief, Jim Orr, took to the stage at CinemaCon 2025 on Wednesday to talk about the film, which is based off of Homer's epic poem.

Orr called the film “a visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would quite likely be proud of,” according to Variety.

He then talked about the film's actors, saying Nolan “assembled a staggering all-star cast.” Orr listed off some of the ensemble, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron.

While Damon is confirmed to be playing Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, the distribution chief did not confirm which characters the rest of the cast would portray.

Homer's The Odyssey, of course, tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus' 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He is filled with interruptions in his quest to return home to his wife, Penelope, and his grown son, Telemachus, who fights off suitors who are desperate to steal his father's throne.

According to its official description from Universal, Nolan's film adaptation is a “mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new Imax film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to Imax film screens for the first time."

It is Nolan's first film since his best picture Oscar-winning blockbuster Oppenheimer.

The Odyssey opens in movie theaters on July 17, 2026.

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