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'The Odyssey' trailer: Christopher Nolan reimagines Homer’s epic with Matt Damon
Also starring Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, the film turns Greek mythology into a haunting war epic
- PUBLISHED: Wed 6 May 2026, 3:11 PM UPDATED: Wed 6 May 2026, 6:00 PM
Christopher Nolan is stepping into Greek mythology with his next film, The Odyssey, and the first full trailer released on May 5 makes it amply clear that this is far from a fantasy epic dressed up in gold armour and nostalgia.
Arriving as his first feature after the Oscar‑winning global phenomenon Oppenheimer, Nolan appears to approach Homer’s ancient text with striking contemporary relevance, delving into the intricacies of war, survival, guilt and the unbearable distance between a man and the home he is trying to return to.
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Set to release in UAE cinemas on July 17, the film follows Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, after the fall of Troy. Odysseus, long celebrated in mythology as the brilliant strategist behind the Trojan Horse, is shown less like a conquering hero and more like a man already carrying the consequences of what war has turned him into.
In the trailer, ships float against towering waves, storms break apart entire crews and the journey home slowly begins to resemble a psychological descent as much as a physical one. But in true Nolan fashion, even in brief glimpses, the scale feels grand while the emotional core remains intact.
Nolan surrounds Damon with one of his most star-heavy ensembles yet. Anne Hathaway plays Penelope, who appears to carry the emotional weight of Ithaca on her shoulders as suitors slowly flood the palace believing Odysseus will never return. Tom Holland stars as Telemachus, caught in that uneasy space between boyhood and responsibility.
Zendaya also stars alongside Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron in roles still largely shrouded in mystery, teased as Gods, allies, tempters or enemies drifting in and out of Odysseus’ path.
Back in Ithaca, the trailer repeatedly returns to Penelope and Telemachus as they struggle to hold together the fragile idea of ‘home’ while Odysseus remains lost in memory.
And while Homer’s epic has been adapted countless times before, Nolan’s version appears less concerned with retelling mythology for its scale and more drawn to the emotional wreckage left behind. Yes, there will hopefully be Gods and monsters, too. But beneath all of that seems to be a far more relatable glimpse into a more contemporary conversation. The story of a man returning from war, only to discover that the life he left behind may no longer exist.
