Matt Damon stars in the first look at director Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
On Monday, Feb. 17, Universal Pictures debuted the first photo from Nolan’s star-studded adaptation, based on Homer’s epis poem of the same name.
Dressed in armor and a cape and coordinating headpiece fit for a Greek hero, Damon, 54, strikes an intimidating, brooding side-profile pose in the snapshot.
“Matt Damon is Odysseus. A film by Christopher Nolan, #TheOdysseyMovie is in theaters July 17, 2026,” reads the caption on the post.
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Universal Pictures confirmed the Oscar-winning director’s upcoming project on X in December 2024, writing, “Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology.”
Nolan’s adaptation will feature an A-list cast as they take on the Greek epic, including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron.
While this first post-Oppenheimer project for Nolan, 54, marks a new chapter in the story’s cinematic journey, The Odyssey has been adapted for the screen several times.
Earlier versions include the 1997 miniseries The Odyssey, starring Armand Assante and Greta Scacchi, as well as the 1954 Italian film Ulysses, which starred Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano and Anthony Quinn. More recently, Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche told the tale in 2024’s The Return.
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Despite boasting several big-name stars in its cast, The Odyssey was a disappointment for other actors who were hoping to snag a role themselves, including Skeet Ulrich.
During a panel at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month, the Scream actor revealed that the role he’d been pursuing “was down to me and two other dudes, and I found out last night it ain’t me.”
But he didn’t let it get him down for the long haul. As Ulrich, 55, told the audience of show business, “It’s almost a weekly experience of putting yourself out there for things and hoping and falling in love with material, and then having to move on.”
“There are big wins, so that makes it palatable, but it’s a lot of rejection,” he added.
The Odyssey is in theaters July 17, 2026.
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