Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Battle Footage Is Here and It Promises an Epic Experience

Few directors generate excitement like Christopher Nolan, and with his upcoming project following the Oscar-winning ‘Oppenheimer’, anticipation is at an all-time high. ‘The Odyssey’ is set to be a mythic action epic, adapting Homer’s ancient Greek poem about the legendary king of Ithaca and his treacherous journey home after the Trojan War.

The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast featuring Hollywood heavyweights such as Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Charlize Theron, among others.

Nolan began crafting ‘The Odyssey’ in March 2024, securing the project with Universal Pictures by October and officially announcing it in December of that year. Filming took place from February to August 2025 across various stunning locations including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara, and Malta, as well as a studio soundstage in Los Angeles.

The scale of the production is something Nolan himself acknowledged, humorously mentioning at CinemaCon in Las Vegas that the shoot was “an absolute nightmare to film — but in all the right ways.”

Recently, footage showcasing the film’s battle sequences has emerged, capturing significant attention. Rotten Tomatoes provided a first look at the action and combat scenes from ‘The Odyssey’, giving audiences a visceral preview of the conflict that drives the narrative.

Among the footage revealed at CinemaCon was the iconic Trojan Horse scene, presented without dialogue and accompanied solely by the sounds of soldiers and Ludwig Göransson’s percussive score. This sequence shows thousands of men transporting the wooden horse from the beach while Greek soldiers remain concealed inside, culminating in a tense moment where a Trojan sword pierces the structure, forcing the hidden warriors to suppress their reactions.

Nolan filmed ‘The Odyssey’ entirely using IMAX cameras, and the battle scenes, which have received considerable acclaim, are expected to be particularly breathtaking on the big screen. Nolan described this project as his “longest-held ambition,” noting that ‘Oppenheimer’ benefited significantly from the premium IMAX format, contributing around 20 percent of its overall box office gross. The decision to shoot the entire film in IMAX 70mm makes ‘The Odyssey’ a landmark in cinematic history, marking the first narrative feature ever filmed entirely in that format.

Tom Holland, who portrays Odysseus’s son Telemachus, referred to the film as “an absolute masterpiece” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, expressing that watching it left him wondering, “How did you do that?” in a way he hadn’t felt from a film in a long time. Demand for specialty 70mm IMAX screenings has been extraordinary, with over 25,000 tickets sold across 22 locations and many opening day showings completely sold out well over a year in advance.

At CinemaCon, Nolan reflected on his motivation for undertaking this project, emphasizing that ‘The Odyssey’ is “the story” rather than just a story, one that has captivated readers for 3,000 years.

With a reported budget of $250 million, this film is the most expensive of Nolan’s career. While his box office track record is impressive, the scale and ambition of this adaptation represent a significant gamble on a piece of source material that may not be widely recognized by general audiences. ‘The Odyssey’ is set to hit theaters on July 17, 2026.

What are your thoughts on the first look at the battle scenes from ‘The Odyssey’? Share your reactions in the comments below.