Christopher Nolan's epic adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey is just a few months away, and we're finally getting a new look at the highly anticipated film. On Monday, Nolan brought a parting gift to The Late Show host and Lord of the Rings fan Stephen Colbert, dropping the latest trailer for The Odyssey as a late-night timed exclusive.
The latest trailer amps up both the drama and the spectacle over previous teasers for the movie. In the drama camp, we get quite a few scenes of what's going on at home while Odysseus (Matt Damon) labors to return. In particular, there's a lot of Robert Pattinson doing a villain turn as Antinous, an aggressive suitor for the hand of Penelope (Anne Hathaway), as he tries to intimidate Penelope and Odysseus' son Telemachus (Tom Holland) into accepting that Odyesseus is dead. We also get our first sighting of Charlize Theron as the nymph Calypso, chatting to a seemingly forgetful Odysseus about what he's left behind.
On the spectacle side, there are some more revealing, and quite stunning, shots of the giant cyclops Polyphemus, as well as a classic Nolan money shot of a tower burning and collapsing during Odysseus' sacking of Troy. There's a very Peter-Jackson's-Lord-of-the-Rings-flavored forest battle against some frightening giant armored warriors, who I assume are Nolan's take on the cannibal Laestrygonians. There's a scary giant whirlpool. And there's a very brief glimpse of the cutest puppy you've ever seen.
Thematically, the whole thing feels very dad game. True, Odysseus and Telemachus aren't adventuring side-by-side like Joel and Ellie or Kratos and Atreus. But Damon seems to be portraying Homer's hero as a familiar figure from blockbuster games of the last 10-15 years: a determined, heavily bearded, middle-aged man who just really, really wants to get back to his wife and son. "No one can stand between me and home," he says in the trailer. "Not even the gods."
Homer's The Odyssey follows the legendary king of Ithaca, Odysseus. Following his victory over his enemies during the Trojan War, depicted in The Iliad, Homer's epic poem follows the king on his long and perilous journey home. Along the way, Odysseus encounters several obstacles and mythical beings, such as the cyclops Polyphemus, Circe, a witch-goddess who turns men into pigs, and the deceptive Sirens. Despite these troubles, Odysseus swears he’ll do anything to get home to Ithaca to see his wife Penelope and son, Telemachus.
Alongside Damon, Holland, Hathaway, Theron, and Pattinson, The Odyssey stars Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, John Leguizamo, Benny Safdie, and Logan Marshall-Green.
After keeping the first trailer for The Odyssey exclusively in cinemas for months, Nolan fans got a first peek at the film last December. That trailer focused on Odysseus' journey, on land, at sea, and in the belly of the Trojan Horse. It also offered a peek at Polyphemus the cyclops to drive home the story's mythological nature.
The Odyssey will be Nolan's first film as a director since 2023's Oppenheimer. Nolan shot the film entirely on IMAX's 70 mm film cameras. It's the first film to use IMAX's new Keighley camera, named for the late David Keighley, IMAX’s first Chief Quality Officer, and his wife, Patricia Keighley, who serves as IMAX’s Chief Quality Guru.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is selling out IMAX theaters a year in advance
Some tickets are already being resold for exorbitant amounts of money