Christopher Nolan reveals why The Odyssey had to be shorter than Oppenheimer: Massive pressure
3 min readMumbaiMay 5, 2026 11:29 AM IST The Odyssey trailer: Robert Pattinson plays the chief antagonist.The Odyssey trailer: Christopher Nolan unveiled a new trailer of his upcoming adventure epic, The Odyssey, on the latest episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The new footage, more detailed and verbose than the first one unveiled last December, also gives more weightage to supporting characters like Robert Pattinson’s chief antagonist Antinous and Charlize Theron’s Calypso, besides the primary leads — Matt Damon as king Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as his wife Penelope, and Tom Holland as their son Telemachus. What’s in the new trailer? The trailer begins with Calypso asking Odysseus, who’s stranded far away from home, what he remembers. Besides his family, the king recalls winning a war. Odysseus has the inkling that his family is in trouble back home, with his throne lying empty, so he takes on a long, arduous journey to get back. “You’re a man who needs to control his fate,” Calypso gives him a pep talk, yet laced with caution, “But you cannot control this.” “No one can stand between me and home. Not even the Gods,” he says, as he embarks on a voyage across land and water. But the last shot suggests he may have spoken too soon. Meanwhile, back home, a number of contenders are eyeing Odysseus’ throne and his wife’s hand in marriage. They’re led by Antinous, who tells Penelope, “This is a household waiting for a master. I want you to choose me.” But she gives it back by saying, “Ithaca’s king is coming back.” “No, he’s not,” responds Antinous, rather confidently. He doesn’t spare the son either as he tells Telemachus, “You’re pining for a daddy you didn’t even know, like some sniveling bastard.” But an assured son shoots back, “My dad is coming home.” But by the end of the trailer, Odysseus’ family begins breaking down, with Penelope admitting, “That world is gone.” Also Read — From Salman Khan’s heroine at 16 to running a tiffin service for a few hundred rupees: Pooja Dadwal’s story of survival An adaptation of ancient Greek poet Homer’s epic book series of the same name, The Odyssey also stars Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Mia Goth, Jimmy Gonzales, and Elliot Page among others. The first feature to be fully filmed on IMAX cameras, it’s slated to release in cinemas on July 17.