Inside Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’: five big trailer clues

WEB DESK: Ever made a straight-to-streaming film (I mean, even Scorsese did). Christopher Nolan has finally lifted the curtain on The Odyssey, unleashing the first official trailer for what is already shaping up to be one of the most ambitious cinematic events in years, a thunderous, sea-soaked “mythic action epic” designed for the biggest screens imaginable.

After weeks of grainy bootlegs circulating online following a limited theatrical prologue, Universal has now released a sleek, two-minute trailer that offers a tantalising glimpse of Nolan’s reimagining of Homer’s ancient saga. Shot entirely with IMAX cameras using brand-new film technology, The Odyssey announces its scale and intent immediately, plunging viewers into a perilous voyage defined by loss, endurance and heroic resolve. The footage centres on Matt Damon’s Odysseus, the legendary Greek warrior struggling to find his way home after the Trojan War. Much of the trailer unfolds at sea, capturing the isolation and danger of a decade-long journey marked by violent encounters and haunting silences. Brief appearances by Tom Holland as Odysseus’ son Telemachus and Anne Hathaway as his steadfast wife Penelope hint at the emotional stakes anchoring the spectacle.

Enough about the technology, here are five takeaways from the trailer itself:

1. Nolan is embracing the fall of Troy — not skipping it

The trailer strongly suggests that The Odyssey will open in the shadow of Troy’s destruction. Glimpses of a massive wooden horse on a desolate shore and scenes of soldiers storming a fortress point to the infamous Trojan Horse and the city’s final collapse. Rather than treating the war as distant backstory, Nolan appears set to anchor Odysseus’ journey in the violence and moral weight of Troy’s aftermath.

2. Telemachus will drive a major part of the story

Tom Holland’s Telemachus emerges as a central figure, with the trailer heavily focused on his search for his long-lost father. This suggests Nolan will devote substantial screen time to Ithaca and the political uncertainty Odysseus leaves behind. The absence of Penelope in the teaser only heightens speculation that the film will first be told through the son’s perspective before fully shifting to the hero himself.

3. Jon Bernthal’s role hints at shifting identities

Jon Bernthal’s mysterious character, seen recounting tales of Odysseus to Telemachus, could represent multiple figures from Homer’s epic. He may be one of Penelope’s predatory suitors — or a legendary ally such as Nestor or Menelaus. His prominence in the trailer suggests Nolan is playing with narrative ambiguity, keeping character identities deliberately fluid in the film’s early marketing.

4. The mythological dangers are very real

One striking image shows Odysseus leading men into a vast cave, widely believed to be the lair of the cyclops Polyphemus. This signals that Nolan is not grounding the story away from its mythic roots. If included, this encounter would mark the moment Odysseus earns Poseidon’s wrath — the curse that condemns him to wander the seas for another decade.

5. Odysseus’ journey will end in total isolation

The final shot of the trailer shows a broken, solitary Odysseus clinging to the remains of a wrecked ship in a raging storm. The image mirrors the moment in Homer’s epic when Odysseus becomes the sole survivor of his crew after defying the gods. It suggests Nolan is leaning into the emotional cost of survival, a hero who returns home alone, having outlived everyone who followed him.

Early reaction to the trailer has been overwhelmingly positive, buoyed by Nolan’s towering reputation following Oppenheimer, which swept the Oscars in 2023 and earned nearly $1 billion worldwide. Expectations are now sky-high that The Odyssey could become one of 2026’s defining releases.

Universal has slated the film for a worldwide theatrical release on July 17, 2026, with tickets already on sale. If the trailer is any indication, Nolan’s voyage into ancient myth may well become his next modern cinematic landmark.

Web Desk