Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Starts Filming Next Month
Christopher Nolan is set to return to the biggest screen near you in 2026 with a venture into a new genre with The Odyssey and production begins very soon.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is based on Homer’s epic of the same name and is described as a mythic action epic. A lot of the information on the project has been hush-hush but more news is slowly creeping in.
It’s all mostly casting news, and it is one hell of a loaded cast. Matt Damon and Tom Holland are the leads and are surrounded by the talent of Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong’o.

It was also revealed that Jon Bernthal has joined the cast of The Odyssey. It’s unclear who he or the other actors are playing just yet but it will likely be revealed soon considering how close production is.
Considering how many characters are involved in the poem itself, there will be more casting news soon and based on Nolan’s track record, expect some more big actors amongst the final cast.
When Does The Movie Start Filming?

The Odyssey is still in the midst of casting, but pre-production seems to have already started in Morroco. The latest news according to Deadline is that the movie will start filming next month in February.
The Odyssey is expected to start shooting next month and marks Nolan’s second for Universal, on the heels of Oppenheimer. Its 2026 release date falls in line with the window often reserved by that filmmaker, as was the case with the historical drama starring Cillian Murphy
The film will likely shoot for a long period of time considering the epic nature and scope of the film. Here are the last 5 Chirstopher Nolan films shooting lengths for reference:
- Oppenheimer: 57 Days
- Tenet: 96 Days
- Dunkirk: 68 Days
- Interstellar: 135 Days
- The Dark Knight Rises: 192 Days
How Long Will The Odyssey Film For?

Reportedly, The Odyssey has a $250 million budget, which would be tied for the highest as Nolan’s biggest budget alongside The Dark Knight Rises. Could this mean that The Odyssey will in fact film for close to 190+ days?
Well, not exactly—it does seem like The Dark Knight Rises is an anomaly in his catalogue in terms of filming length. It’s likely that it will shoot for over 4 months, maybe a bit longer than Interstellar but unlikely to come close to TDKR in that regard.
It is also to be noted that something that could make production longer is that some actors may have other commitments the filming schedule has to work around.
Tom Holland, for example, is set to return to the MCU as Spider-Man in Avengers: Doomsday, which may end up impacting some of the schedule if he truly is a major part of the film. Zendaya is also filming Euphoria Season 3 at the same time.

And it’s very possible the other actors will have some other project coincide with filming of The Odyssey, but Nolan knows this, so it’s likely productions of both films have already figured out the schedules and an efficient way to handle all this.
All this to say, it’s likely that Nolan’s attempt at Homer’s epic poem will film from February all the way to June or July. Be prepared for more fantastic news to come once production starts.
The epic, fantasy nature of the film will likely yield incredible practical designs and sets considering Nolan’s love of trying to capture as much as he can on set. Here is some of the pre-production happening already:
The Odyssey is set to film across Morocco, the UK, and Italy. It sounds like production itself is starting in Morocco first before it moves to the later countries.
The Odyssey stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal. It is set to release in theaters on July 17, 2026. It will be filmed with brand new IMAX cameras that have new technology.
Thanks for reading this article about the production timeline of The Odyssey. Make sure to check out more news here at Feature First.