Empire Magazine has unveiled another batch of official promo stills for Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey.
We got a first look at Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as his mother and Odysseus' wife, Penelope, and Mia Goth as Melantho earlier this week, and these images spotlight the characters played by Robert Pattinson (The Batman), Zendaya (Spider-Man: Brand New Day), and John Leguizamo (John Wick, Spawn).
Zendaya will indeed play the goddess Athena, but Pattinson is not playing Hermes as previously rumored, but Antinous, who is one of the many suitors vying for Penelope's hand in marriage in Odysseus' absence. Leguizamo has been cast as Eumaeus, a loyal friend of Odysseus who aids him upon his return to Ithaca.
While speaking to the mag, Nolan explained his approach to the more fantastical elements of the story.
"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.”
The first full trailer for The Odyssey will screen ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash next month, and Empire has now confirmed that it will actually feature a full action sequence from the Battle of Troy. The footage will reportedly end with a first glimpse of the "fearsome" Cyclops.
"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.