Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' trailer is absolute cinema

Matt Damon stars as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's next epic.
 By 
Belen Edwards
 on 
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Two soldiers in "The Odyssey."
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Universal Pictures has released the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, and Nolan-heads, we have never been so back.

In his follow-up to the Academy Award-winning Oppenheimer, Nolan adapts Homer's Greek epic with an all-star cast. Matt Damon plays Odysseus, the wily King of Ithaca. He's one of the tens of thousands of Greeks who fought in the Trojan War. It's his ruse of the Trojan Horse that finally breaches the walls of Troy and puts an end to the decade-long siege. After all that death and destruction, Odysseus is more than ready to return home to his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and his son Telemachus (Tom Holland).

Of course, Odysseus' journey quickly goes awry, otherwise we wouldn't have an epic poem — or Nolan's film, for that matter. On his voyage home, he'll encounter all matter of obstacles, from the enchantress Circe (Charlize Theron) to the Cyclops Polyphemus.

The latter's appearance is one of the many show-stopping moments in the trailer, with Nolan reportedly using animatronics to bring the famed one-eyed giant to life. But that's not all The Odyssey's trailer has in store. Between sweeping shots of the ocean, teases of the Trojan Horse sequence, and riveting storm sequences that leave Damon in bedraggled wet cat mode, the trailer is a visual feast. (And don't even get me started on the stirring score. My ears can only get so pumped.)

If the trailer already has you foaming at the mouth to see more of Nolan's next film, you're in luck. The Odyssey's six-minute prologue is now playing in theaters ahead of IMAX screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

The Odyssey also stars Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Zendaya.

The Odyssey hits theaters July 18.

Topics Film Trailers

A woman in a white sweater with shoulder-length brown hair.
Belen Edwards
Entertainment Reporter

Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.


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