Christopher Nolan presented exclusive footage from his upcoming film The Odyssey at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. The presentation featured intense scenes of the Trojan Horse attack and drew a standing ovation from exhibitors. Nolan described the project as a long-held dream shot entirely on IMAX cameras.
Christopher Nolan took the stage at the Colosseum during Universal's CinemaCon presentation on Tuesday, receiving a standing ovation. The director joked about the star-studded cast, saying, “It’ll be quicker for me to tell you who isn’t in the movie. I would have brought them all here but the massive weight of extraordinary talent would have collapsed the stage.” He emphasized the timeless appeal of the story, stating, “‘The Odyssey’ is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years. It’s not a story. It’s the story.” Nolan highlighted the film's focus on family and homecoming, with Matt Damon starring as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, and Anne Hathaway as Penelope. Other cast members include Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Cosmo Jarvis, Michael Vlamis, and Iddo Goldberg. The exclusive footage showed Damon's shirtless Odysseus on a beach, questioning his past: “I can’t remember anything before Troy. Did I have a wife? Children? Maybe a son? If I had a son, how old would he be now?” It depicted interactions with Charlize Theron's Calypso and the Trojan Horse raid, where Greeks led by Odysseus and Menelaus emerge to sack Troy after Trojans pull the horse inside. Nolan called The Odyssey his “longest-held ambition” and the first film shot entirely with IMAX cameras, following the success of Oppenheimer, which won Best Picture and Best Director. He described filming as “an absolute nightmare to film — in all the right ways,” noting it is almost finished. The film, first announced in December 2024 and produced with his wife Emma Thomas, is set for IMAX release on July 17.