Matt Damon Reveals The Odyssey Could Be His Final Epic Filmed on Traditional Movie Stock

Well, this is about as big and old-school as movies get these days. Christopher Nolan, who’s never really bothered with ‘small,’ decided to adapt The Odyssey. Yes, that Odyssey—the one with gods, monsters, and a hero who just cannot catch a break on his trip home. The whole thing is shot in 70mm IMAX (because of course it is), all on actual film, and the cast list reads like Nolan sent out a group text to Hollywood’s entire A-list.

The Ambition Is Real

Nolan’s movie is called The Odyssey and, if you know the poem, you know what you’re in for—sort of. Matt Damon takes the lead as Odysseus, that clever king who spends a decade fighting the Trojan War and then another decade getting absolutely wrecked by gods, ogres, and Murphy’s Law, all in the name of trying to make it home to his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway). Expect Cyclopses, sirens, shipwrecks—the whole mythical mess.

Matt Damon: Feeling the Weight

If you think starring in an epic that crosses half the ancient world sounds exhausting, you’re correct—Matt Damon says so himself. He recently told Netflix he’s still 'unpacking' what it took out of him, but made it clear the movie’s had a 'profound effect' on him. Basically, Damon sees this as his last dance with massive, David Lean-size epics shot on real film:

'Doing The Odyssey this last year, it felt like my one chance in my life to make a David Lean movie... that I was making the last big movie on film that I was ever gonna get to make.'

He also mused that, if he’d tackled this role twenty years ago, he probably would’ve been miserable—but now he ‘deeply enjoyed every minute of it,’ discomfort and all.

The Entire Cast—Buckle Up

Nolan went all-in with the ensemble. Here’s everyone you’ll be watching try to survive gods, monsters, and each other:

• Matt Damon
• Anne Hathaway
• Charlize Theron
• Jon Bernthal
• Tom Holland
• Robert Pattinson
• Mia Goth
• Zendaya
• Elliot Page
• John Leguizamo
• Samantha Morton
• Ryan Hurst
• Logan Marshall-Green
• Lupita Nyong'o
• Josh Stewart
• Benny Safdie
• Corey Hawkins
• Elyes Gabel

What’s This Epic Actually About?

You don’t need a degree in ancient Greek to get the gist: Damon's Odysseus desperately tries to get home after the Trojan War, but the gods have other plans. Cyclopses try to squash him, sirens want to drown him, Circe turns his crew into pigs—you get the idea. Meanwhile, his family back in Ithaca is dealing with a pack of aggressive suitors who'd like to marry his apparently-widowed wife and take over his kingdom. So, no pressure.

If Anyone Could Pull This Off...

Honestly, would any studio even say yes to a $250 million mythological IMAX epic if Nolan wasn’t directing? Hard to imagine. A cast list like this, shooting across several countries, all on celluloid, no digital shortcuts—if it wasn’t Nolan, it’d sound like someone’s extremely wishful Letterboxd post. But here we are.

The release date’s set: July 17. If you want to know what the (possibly) last giant, shot-on-film blockbuster looks like in 2024, take note. I can’t promise actual gods, but seeing who survives filming a Nolan epic is almost as fun.