Christopher Nolan goes big and bold with 'The Odyssey', shooting entirely with IMAX film cameras; first film to be made this way

Christopher Nolan is going all out with his upcoming fantasy epic, The Odyssey. The auteur, known for using large-format technology to treat viewers with an immersive big-screen experience, is going big and bold this time — meaning, the Matt Damon-fronted adaptation of Homer's classic poem will be shot entirely in IMAX, giving it the distinction of being the first film shot this way.

This means that unlike his last few films, which utilised the format only in a few sequences, with the occasional switch between regular and large aspect ratios, The Odyssey will come to audiences entirely in the IMAX-friendly aspect ratio. Making it even more special is the fact that Nolan is working with IMAX film cameras, unlike the IMAX digital cameras used in films such as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Recently, Ryan Coogler employed the format to shoot Sinners with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw.

In his official statement at Cannes 2025 on Thursday, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said: "Chris called me up and said, 'If you can figure out how to solve the problems, I will make it 100 per cent in IMAX. And that's what we're doing. He forced us to rethink that side of our business, our film recorders, our film cameras."

By "problems", we assume Nolan is referring to the noise and weight of these cameras, challenges often cited by filmmakers who have worked with them, including Nolan himself, who had remarked in earlier interviews about his experience. But these limitations notwithstanding, Nolan has been passionately endorsing the use of these cameras for the broad canvas storytelling in his films, beginning with The Dark Knight and continuing through The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and in his last film, the multiple Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.

The Odyssey narrates the legend of the Greek king, Odysseus. While returning home from the Trojan War, he meets a strange group of mythological characters. Given the non-linear storytelling in Homer's work, Nolan's taking on this project is self-explanatory.

Produced by Universal Pictures and Nolan's wife, Emma Thomas, under their home banner Syncopy Pictures, The Odyssey will hit theatres on July 17, 2026.

The first look of Matt Damon as Odysseus was revealed by the studio recently, generating much excitement among Nolan fans, who were surprised and relieved that Nolan is making a sword-and-sandal entertainer, a first in his career.

Damon is joined by a heavy ensemble featuring Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, and Mia Goth, among others.

Hoyte van Hoytema, who helmed the camera in Nolan's Interstellar, Tenet, and Oppenheimer, is the director of photography.

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