Universal Pictures and Focus Features held their CinemaCon presentation earlier this week, and Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Interstellar) was on hand to showcase some new footage from his epic adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey.
The 5-minute preview featured a lot of the same footage from last year's Trojan Horse IMAX sequence, but attendees also got a first look at Charlize Theron's character, as well as a terrifying glimpse of the Cyclops Polyphemus devouring one of Odysseus' men.
Previous reports claimed that Theron had been cast as the witch-goddess Circe, but she will actually play Calypso, the nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years because she was determined to make him her husband.
“Why The Odyssey? The Odyssey is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years,” Nolan said during the presentation. “It’s not a story. It’s the story.”
“How do you go about bringing this to a modern audience? Obviously, we start with the cast,” the filmmaker continued. “It’ll be quicker for me to tell you who isn’t in the movie. I would have brought them all here, but the massive weight of extraordinary talent would have collapsed the stage.”
You can check out a more detailed breakdown of the footage at the link below.
"Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand-new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026," said Universal Pictures in a statement when the project was announced.
The poem has been adapted (sometimes very loosely) a number of times before, starting with the 1911 silent film by Giuseppe de Liguoro, and followed by 1954’s Ulysses starring Kirk Douglas. The Cohen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) is also based on the epic adventure, as is 2024’s The Return starring Ralph Fiennes.
Anime fans may also recall the '80s Ulysses 31 series, which put a futuristic spin on the tale.
Back in 2015, Deadpool and Wolverine star Hugh Jackman was in talks to play Odysseus in an adaptation from Lionsgate and director Francis Lawrence, but the project never got off the ground.
The Odyssey is due for release in theaters on July 17, 2026.