It was recently confirmed that a six-minute prologue for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey will debut in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash, and the footage has now found its way online.
The leaked clip, which showcases Ludwig Göransson's incredible score, doesn't show the very start of the prologue, which opens with Jon Bernthal's Spartan King Menelaus asking Telemachus (Tom Holland) if he "knows the story of the horse."
We then see Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his men hiding in the legendary giant wooden horse as Trojan soldiers drag it into the city, jabbing swords through it to check for Greeks (probably could have done a slightly better job there, lads).
When night falls, the legendary hero leads an attack, stealthily taking down enemies as the Greeks attempt to open the main gate, and the tension builds to the beginning of a full-scale battle.
The preview concludes with quick flashes of action, and we get to see the giant Cyclops known as Polyphemus. The quality of the clip means the monster is mostly obscured, unfortunately, but it's still possible to make out some of the practical creature design.
We won't be sharing the leaked teaser here, but it shouldn't be too hard to find.
Nolan explained his approach to the more fantastical elements of the story during a recent interview with Empire Magazine.
"One of the things I needed to crack was how to approach mythological elements in a sort of real-world way. The big breakthrough creatively in thinking about the gods was that everything that is now explained by science was once supernatural. Lightning, thunder, earthquakes, volcanoes... people are literally seeing gods everywhere; not even the evidence of gods, they're seeing the actions of gods. I don't want to say too much about it beyond indicating that yes, the evidence of the supernatural is all around these people. It's very much part of their lives. And I think it's quite a lot of fun to tap into that.”
You can check out an impressive new fan-made poster 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.
Homer's ancient Greek poem follows Odysseus and his crew on their journey home following the Trojan War, encountering all manner of threats along the way, including the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the witch-goddess Circe.
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.