Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Is the First Film to Ever Use IMAX Like This
Christopher Nolan's Odysseus sets sail for Ithaca on July 17, 2026, and it's going to look amazing.
For years, writer-director Christopher Nolan has brilliantly utilized IMAX cameras to deliver unique blockbuster experiences like no other and now, the Oppenheimer Oscar-winner is going all in on the large-scale format.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan's next feature, a sweeping adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey (out next summer), will be the first commercial movie in history to be shot entirely on IMAX cameras.
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“What large-format photography gives you is clarity, first and foremost,” Nolan explains in the Oppenheimer production notes. “It’s a format that allows the audience to become fully immersed in the story and in the reality that you’re taking them to."
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey to make history with new IMAX cameras
“Chris called me up and said, ‘If you can figure out how to solve the problems, I will make [Odyssey] 100 percent in Imax.’ And that’s what we’re doing,” IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond revealed to members of the press at the Cannes Film Festival. “He forced us to rethink that side of our business, our film recorders, our film cameras.”
Per THR, the company developed brand-new models that are both quieter and lighter than previous ones. All of them were built and exclusively reserved for the Nolan production, though other projects will get to use them once The Odyssey has wrapped.
Cinematography duties on the film are being handled by Hoyte van Hoytema, who previously collaborated with the acclaimed director on Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and Oppenheimer.
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Matt Damon (Interstellar, Oppenheimer) is playing the titular role of Odysseus. Granted, he's just one A-lister out of many that Nolan was able to lure to the project with his directorial siren sound, including Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Zendaya (Challengers), Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada), Lupita Nyong’o (The Wild Robot), Robert Pattinson (Tenet), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Elliot Page (Inception), Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), John Leguizamo (John Wick), and Mia Goth (Ti West's X trilogy).
When does The Odyssey open in theaters?
The Odyssey is scheduled to hit the big screen July 17, 2026. This is Nolan's second team-up with Universal Pictures after Oppenheimer.
