Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Wows CinemaCon with Epic First Look

Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is a historical drama that is based on Homer's Greek epic poem of the same name. It stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Zendaya in the lead roles.

The director was greeted with a standing ovation as he walked on stage at the Colosseum. An introvert, the filmmaker tried to deflect the attention, joking that he's just happy that he's not following Steven Spielberg during Universal's presentation to exhibitors. Spielberg's new film "Disclosure Day" was teased later in the afternoon, reported Variety.

The director addressed his decision to adapt the original epic for today's audiences. Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, and the story chronicles his long and perilous return home after the Trojan War.

"Why 'The Odyssey?' 'The Odyssey' is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years. It's not a story. It's the story," said

Nolan treated exhibitors to an extended look at "The Odyssey," which opened with Damon's Odysseus, shirtless on the beach with a burly beard. He's been gone a long time and admits to Calypso (Charlize Theron) that he "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?" said Matt Damon in the film, as quoted by Variety.

According to the outlet, most of the footage revolved around 'the story of the horse', the famous Trojan horse attack, which the Greeks used as cover to enter the city of Troy at the end of the war. As the massive wooden figure washes up on the beach, thousands of men have to pull the Trojan horse out of the water and onto the sand before they can wheel it into the city.

In the tense and thrilling sequence, the Greeks are forced to stay quiet as the Trojans plunge swords into the statue to see if anything was hidden, with one blade even slicing into the face of a hidden soldier.

Later, there are shots of Odysseus urging his soldiers to keep rowing through a storm, and then slinging arrows as they launch their full-scale attack in the dark of night. The footage ended with a quick shot of Odysseus and his soldiers as they face the man-eating cyclops Polyphemus; the massive brute picks up a man in his hand before the screen cuts to black, reported Variety.

According to the Greek tale, Polyphemus is one of many mythical beings, Cyclops, sirens, and Circe among them, who Odysseus will encounter as he ventures to reunite with his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland).

Along with Damon, Hathaway, Holland and Theron, the stacked ensemble includes Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo and Himesh Patel. Given the robust call sheet, Nolan joked there were too many stars to feasibly bring with him to CinemaCon.

Nolan shared that the filming of the movie was done in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland and Scotland, reported Variety.

"This has been an absolute nightmare to film -- but in all the right ways," he said. "We had an amazing time." He singled out his leading man, referring to Damon as his "partner on this journey" and calling his work "incredible."

"He was there on the boats, up the mountains, in the caves, in the beating sunshine, sideways rain, wind," Nolan said. "You'll be pleased to know how difficult it was. It was meant to be; that's the nature of this story," added Nolan as quoted by Variety.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is scheduled to be released in theatres and IMAX in the United States on July 17, 2026.

- ANI