Christopher Nolan’s 2026 film has been revealed – and it’s a Greek epic

For months there has been intense speculation about Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to “Oppenheimer,” the three-hour epic that won him Oscars for best picture and best director. The cast has gradually come together: Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron. Could it be a vampire movie? For a while, there was a hilarious rumor that Nolan was planning a remake of the John Badham police helicopter action film Blue Thunder – because apparently that’s how you spend influence after winning two Oscars and making an R-rated, box office masterpiece of $977 million.

For those who were hoping that Matt Damon and Tom Holland would rekindle the sizzling chemistry of Roy Scheider and Daniel Stern in Blue Thunder, I have very bad news. For everyone else, if you were hoping for Nolan to push the envelope in scope and technology, you’re in for the epic of all epics. I just hope you like poetry.

Homer’s “Odyssey” has been adapted several times throughout film history. Kirk Douglas played the epic hero Ulysses in a star-studded 1954 film from director Mario Camerini, while more recently George Clooney memorably shone as the freedom-seeking leader of the Soggy Bottom Boys in Joel and Ethan Coen’s O Brother, Where Are You?” Did you go to school? Had a teacher spent at least one day studying Greek mythology? You know “The Odyssey.” So here’s the deal. According to a tweet from Universal Pictures:

“Christopher Nolan’s next film, The Odyssey, is a mythical action epic shot around the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s quintessential saga to IMAX screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026. “

For lovers of cinematic sensations, this promises … well, who’s to say? If Nolan is using the new IMAX technology and the film is still a year and a half away, there’s no telling what he’s up to. What we can absolutely expect is that Nolan will devote all of his cinematic skills to the story of Odysseus, who makes an arduous journey back to Ithaca to be with his wife Penelope, who is besieged by suitors. What I’m hoping for is a traditionally told version of the story with sirens, a seafaring adventure and a giant cyclops. There’s always the possibility that Nolan updates the material and sets it in the present, which could be cool too! But from now on I want a great Greek epic, shot and presented in 70mm film. Regardless of how Nolan approaches it, this is official The Cinema event of 2026 and a film that we will be speculating about for a long time.