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Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' first reactions are in: Matt Damon tipped for Oscars
With its July 17 release approaching, the film is shaping up to be one of 2026's biggest cinematic events
- PUBLISHED: Tue 7 Jul 2026, 11:11 AM
Has Christopher Nolan done it again? After bending time, space and the nuclear age, he’s gone ancient Greek with The Odyssey and if early reactions are any indication, this might be his most audacious big-screen gamble yet
The first waves of social media buzz are calling the film “staggering”, “breathtaking” and “a filmmaking feast”, the kind of language usually reserved for end-of-year awards campaigns, not early press screenings.
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Critics are raving about the scale and immersion of the IMAX sequences, describing battle set pieces and seafaring passages as pure cinematic spectacle built to be experienced on the largest screen possible. Many are already tagging it as Nolan’s “biggest film to date”. And not just in runtime and ambition, but in emotional heft.
Several note that the final act “rewards the journey”, even for those who find parts of the film uneven.
At the centre of it all is Matt Damon, whose take on Odysseus is being hailed as a career-defining turn, with more than one early viewer floating his name in the Best Actor conversation. Around him, a starry ensemble — including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong’o — is drawing strong notices, with shoutouts for the way the cast balances mythic grandeur with human vulnerability.
Coming off the Oscar-sweeping success of Oppenheimer, The Odyssey marks Nolan’s 13th feature and his first dive into classical myth, reimagining Homer’s epic as a muscular, IMAX-sized odyssey about war and homecoming.
The film follows Damon’s Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, on a perilous journey back from the Trojan War as he fights gods, monsters and his own choices to reunite with Penelope. Universal has positioned it as the tentpole of summer 2026, with a global rollout beginning July 17 and premieres across London, Paris, Mumbai, New York, Beijing and Seoul.
With the reaction embargo lifting ahead of its release, The Odyssey is already being touted as the cinematic event of the summer and possibly the awards-season frontrunner to beat.
