‘The Odyssey’ Trailer Debuts First Look at Nolan’s New Epic

As a movie fanatic, I’ve always appreciated Christopher Nolan’s approach. He’s a bit of a throwback, honestly – he still prefers shooting on actual film! And he’s super passionate about the theatrical experience; he really wants you to see his films on the biggest screen possible, ideally IMAX – and trust me, that’s saying something. It’s all about that immersive, powerful feeling for him.

Even for a classic, The Odyssey feels remarkably old-fashioned. Few stories from so long ago are still popular today, but Homer’s epic tale of Odysseus’s journey – starring Matt Damon in this adaptation – remains a timeless favorite.

Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film features a star-studded cast including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong’o, alongside Zendaya and Charlize Theron. A longer preview of the movie has been shown before screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash, but now the official trailer is available online.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie, The Odyssey, is a large-scale action adventure filmed in locations around the globe using innovative new IMAX® film cameras. It’s the first time Homer’s classic story will be shown on IMAX® film.

Even though The Odyssey isn’t released for another six months, screenings are already sold out. Universal Pictures made the unusual decision to offer IMAX tickets a full year in advance, and fans of director Christopher Nolan quickly bought them all. Nolan reportedly used two million feet of film to create his take on the classic story, making it his first film since the 2023 Oscar winner Oppenheimer.

Christopher Nolan’s new film, The Odyssey, is set to premiere in theaters on July 17, 2026, which might mean Greta Gerwig needs to speed up her own film’s release schedule if she’s also aiming for that date.

Every Christopher Nolan Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

12. Insomnia

Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia marked his entry into mainstream filmmaking with a dark and intense police thriller, a remake of a Norwegian film. Al Pacino plays an LAPD detective sent to Alaska to solve a murder, a move that may also be a way to escape an internal investigation into his own behavior. The case quickly spirals out of control, leading to insomnia (exacerbated by the constant daylight) and a disturbing connection with the killer, who attempts to manipulate the detective into framing an innocent person. Robin Williams delivers a memorable performance as a quiet mystery writer, though Pacino’s affected Southern accent hasn’t aged well. Insomnia is one of Nolan’s most direct films; while the exploration of a flawed but self-righteous cop is a theme he often returns to, he seems less confident without his usual complex storytelling techniques. It’s a solid film, but his best work was still ahead of him.

11. Following

I was immediately captivated by Christopher Nolan’s early work. Even with his very first feature, Following, you could see the seeds of everything he’d become known for. It’s a fascinating, non-linear story about a young writer who gets drawn into the world of following people – and then, surprisingly, into a life of theft. The thieves in the film aren’t motivated by money, but by a strange code of ethics, which is just so intriguing. It features a character named Cobb, which is a fun little nod to his later film, Inception. While it’s not as polished as his later masterpieces, Following is packed with clever twists and turns. You can see the potential there, the building blocks of the complex, mind-bending films he’d eventually create. It’s amazing to look back and realize how much of his signature style was already present, even at the very beginning.

10. Tenet

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is a film you’ll likely need to watch multiple times to fully understand—it’s that complex. In fact, repeat viewings aren’t just suggested, they’re almost essential. (If possible, seeing it played in reverse is a must!) The movie stars John David Washington as an unnamed CIA agent who gets pulled into a global conflict involving time manipulation. It’s a simultaneously confusing and exciting film—essentially Nolan’s take on a James Bond adventure, and a good reason why he probably won’t ever be allowed to direct an actual Bond film, given how strange and unsettling Tenet is.

9. Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk offers a fresh take on the famous World War II battle, showing the events from land, sea, and air, but at different speeds. The film follows a British soldier (Fionn Whitehead) fighting for survival on the beaches of France over a week, a private boat’s day-long journey across the English Channel to rescue soldiers, and a fighter pilot (Tom Hardy) defending the evacuating troops in just one hour. Dunkirk is best experienced as a visually and aurally immersive event, with stunning imagery and thrilling aerial combat. In quieter moments, the film subtly emphasizes the passage of time through the ticking of a clock in Hans Zimmer’s score, highlighting the inescapable reality faced by the characters while acknowledging Nolan’s control over the story’s pacing.

8. Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s ambitious space film, Interstellar, is also a love letter to traditional filmmaking, which is rapidly disappearing. Like our planet in the movie, analog film is facing extinction. Nolan, known for his dark and realistic style, delivers his grittiest film yet – the scenes on Earth are remarkably dusty and bleak. However, Interstellar is unusually somber, and there’s a tension between Nolan’s generally pessimistic approach and the movie’s hopeful message, which doesn’t quite come together. Despite this, Nolan clearly isn’t willing to accept defeat easily, and he delivers a visually stunning and thought-provoking experience.

7. The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film is both the most complicated and the most impactful of the three – often simultaneously. Like Bruce Wayne’s lengthy and difficult recovery in a seemingly inescapable pit, the film feels sprawling and significant. The story slows considerably as Batman physically and emotionally recovers after losing to Bane, but this section also delivers one of the series’ most powerful moments: his climb out of the pit, which visually echoes the well where he first discovered the Batcave. While the rest of the plot is somewhat unwieldy and the pacing feels off – especially Tom Hardy’s muffled performance as Bane and Bane’s over-the-top plan – the film expands on the themes introduced in The Dark Knight, further blurring the lines between hero and villain. Looking back, the film’s critique of the flaws within capitalism feels particularly relevant today. Though, it does feel like Bruce Wayne spends a very long time stuck in that hole.

6. Inception

As a huge movie fan, I always saw Christopher Nolan’s Inception as a brilliant, self-aware look at the filmmaking process itself. You’ve got the financier backing the project, the production designer crafting the worlds, the actor transforming into different characters, and even someone keeping everything on track – like an assistant director. Each dream level feels like a nod to classic film genres, like film noir and spy thrillers. What’s amazing is how their careful planning constantly gets thrown off course, forcing them to be creative and resourceful. Ultimately, they’re trying to create something that truly sticks with their target, a permanent impression. The core idea – thieves using technology to plant an idea in someone’s subconscious through shared dreaming – is incredibly clever, and the way Nolan handles the multiple dream layers is really impressive. But honestly, all that cleverness sometimes hides some plot holes, and the whole dream heist concept gets so complicated that a lot of the movie feels like characters just explaining what’s happening, instead of showing it.

5. Batman Begins

While Christopher Nolan is often praised for making Batman and superhero movies more realistic and gritty, these changes truly took hold with The Dark Knight. Batman Begins actually feels more connected to the Tim Burton Batman films from the 1990s – even sharing the same naming style. It features Christian Bale in a somewhat clumsy Batman suit, a villain with a plan to terrorize a city with gas, and a visually striking, fantastical Gotham City. Though Nolan’s signature style fully emerged in The Dark Knight, Batman Begins is a strong start to his trilogy, boasting a clever flashback structure and memorable lines delivered by Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. It still holds up well today.

4. Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is both surprisingly direct and remarkably ambitious. It’s a traditional biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who created the atomic bomb during World War II and later questioned America’s nuclear strategies. However, it’s also a complex, three-hour historical drama that jumps between different time periods – presented in both color and black and white – even though we already know the outcome. This intricate structure isn’t just stylistic; it actually reinforces the film’s central ideas about cause and effect, and how even well-intentioned choices can lead to unforeseen results.

3. The Dark Knight

It takes a truly daring filmmaker to replace an iconic performance like Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Christopher Nolan did just that with Heath Ledger, who delivered a legendary performance – and made history as the only actor to win an Oscar for a superhero movie. While many Batman films are good, The Dark Knight stands out for its thrilling action, stunning visuals, and thought-provoking exploration of what defines heroes and villains. Unlike other directors who felt limited by the superhero genre, Nolan embraced its conventions, using familiar characters and storylines to delve into complex themes like revenge, the dangers of power, and the desperate search for meaning.

2. Memento

Don’t let the clever structure of Memento fool you into thinking it’s just a trick. Yes, it’s incredibly complex – easily the most challenging thing Christopher Nolan had done up to that point, and maybe ever. But the way the timelines jump around isn’t just for show. It actually puts you inside the mind of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), the main character, who has a rare form of amnesia that prevents him from making new memories. We follow Leonard as he tries to find the man who attacked his wife, and the film starts by showing us the resolution, then unravels backwards to reveal what truly happened. Memento instantly put Nolan on the map as a director to watch, but the film itself isn’t about being ‘cool.’ It’s a genuinely tragic story about a man desperately trying to find meaning in his life. Looking back at Nolan’s work, he’s definitely continued to play with film structure and explore similar themes, but I think he’s left behind the dark humor that runs throughout Memento – like that amazing chase scene where Leonard can’t even tell if he’s the one doing the chasing, or the fact that he stays at a hotel called the ‘Discount Inn’ – a clever nod to how he’s constantly questioning and ‘discounting’ the stories of others, especially a man named Sammy Jenkins who had a similar condition.

1. The Prestige

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is a masterpiece where all his signature filmmaking techniques – like complex timelines and surprising plot twists – come together brilliantly. The film follows two rival magicians in Victorian London, played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, whose fierce competition leads to both incredible innovation and deadly consequences. It’s a story within a story, exploring how far artists will go for their craft and the inherent duality of good and evil in everyone. The Prestige remains endlessly rewatchable, even knowing its secrets, offering new insights with each viewing as you notice Nolan’s clever foreshadowing – if you pay close attention.

2025-12-22 17:28