Tom Holland hasn't had a huge amount of luck outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man: No Way Home broke box office records in 2021, but movies like Cherry, Uncharted, and Holland's first TV series, The Crowded Room, drew mixed reviews.
How better to bounce back from those than by collaborating with the filmmaker behind The Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan? That's what Holland is looking to do with The Odyssey, the filmmaker's next epic and a movie he's expected to lead alongside Matt Damon.
New photos from the movie's set in Greece have been revealed (via SFFGazette.com) and they offer a first look at Holland's mystery character. We still don't know who he'll play, though the most compelling theory is Telemachus, the son of Odysseus.
In the original story, he must prove himself worthy of becoming King - Ithaca's ruler must be approved by a council - and he later helps his father, likely Damon's character, when he returns home.
Of all the movies Nolan was rumoured to follow Oppenheimer with, a new take on the epic poem composed by Homer in the 8th Century wasn't predicted or guessed by anyone. However, it's not a stretch to imagine the filmmaker delivering something special with his first sword-and-sandals epic.
Back to Holland, once he's done with The Odyssey, he'll shoot Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man 4, and likely Avengers: Secret Wars for Marvel Studios.
The ancient Greek poem is one of the foundational texts of Western literature. It tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, exploring themes of heroism, loyalty, cunning and the struggle against divine will.
The tale includes iconic stories like Odysseus' encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens and the witch-goddess Circe, culminating in a reunion with his wife Penelope.
The cast of The Odyssey also features Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, and Jon Bernthal, with Mia Goth recently boarding the project in what could be a non-speaking role (speculation she might be playing a siren has run rampant online).
"Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology," Universal Pictures revealed last December. "The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to Imax film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026."
The Odyssey arrives in theaters on July 17, 2026.