Christopher Nolan’s Next IMAX Movie is Based on ‘The Odyssey’
Director Christopher Nolan’s next film will be based on The Odyssey and will be released in IMAX theaters on July 17, 2026.
Following the critical and commercial success of Oppenheimer last year, Universal Pictures announced that the director will take on Homer’s 2,000-year-old ancient Greek poem The Odyssey using IMAX for his next movie.
“Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,” Universal Pictures writes in a post on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter).
“The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.”
The film is set to feature a star-studded cast of Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, and Charlize Theron.
Nolan hasn’t specifically said what the new technology for The Odyssey will be. However, in an interview with The Associated Press this month, the director says that they’re in an intensive testing phase with IMAX to prepare for the new production.
“They have an incredible engineering staff, really brilliant minds doing extraordinary work,” Nolan tells The Associated Press.
“It’s wonderful to see innovation in the celluloid film arena still happening and happening at the highest level possible.”
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the second generation of IMAX cameras — which are being built from scratch — are expected to be more user friendly.
Nolan’s Love Affair with IMAX Cameras
It is no surprise that the filmmaker’s next project will be an IMAX release. Nolan’s love affair with IMAX cameras is no secret and the director views IMAX (and its 70mm format) as the “gold standard” of cinema.
Nolan’s enthusiasm for IMAX cameras even led him to invent new lenses so that he could film movies the way he wants to.
Nolan’s summer blockbuster Oppenheimer was shot entirely on IMAX 65mm and Panavision 65mm cameras. But while these cameras have only ever been used for big, landscape, establishing shots, Oppenheimer used them for close-up shots too.
Since IMAX cameras have never been used to get up close to an actor delivering their lines, the Oppenheimer filmmaker created new lenses so they could get these tight shots.
As well as Nolan’s next feature, there is only one other movie in 2025 that is currently slated to be shot with IMAX film cameras. In May, PetaPixel reported that an as-yet-unnamed thriller movie directed by Ryan Coogler and featuring actor Michael B. Jordan will be the only other production utilizing the awesome power of an IMAX film camera.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
