When the lights went dark and the IMAX screen lit up, I wasn’t expecting this. A slow fade to waves crashing on an endless ocean, a wooden ship slicing through fog and then, those words: A film by Christopher Nolan. The crowd in my IMAX screening for Fantastic Four: First Steps gasped. And when the teaser ended, people clapped. Loudly.
This is Nolan’s next big thing, The Odyssey, and in true Nolan fashion, you can’t watch it online. No YouTube. If you want to see this, you need a ticket to an IMAX screening. And honestly? That feels right. Nolan is making trailers an event again.
First Look: What’s in the Teaser?
The first shot is pure Nolan: practical, grounded and massive. The ocean, deep blue, swallowing the frame. A battered ship fights through wind and waves: real wood, real sails, no obvious CGI gloss. Then, a flash of faces: Matt Damon as Odysseus, bloodied and weary. Tom Holland as Telemachus, eyes wide in a Spartan hall, asking about his father.
Jon Bernthal appears as Menelaus, every inch the war-worn king. And then Lupita Nyong’o’s radiant, commanding, as Helen of Troy (Rumour has it she’s also Clytemnestra. If that’s true? Game-changer.)
And then the Trojan Horse. Looming, burning, silhouetted against smoke. It’s not stylised. It’s brutal, functional and terrifying. There’s a voiceover, low and rough (maybe Eumaeus?), talking about loyalty and broken oaths. And then one line about “those who broke xenia.” A Homer nerd’s heart just exploded.
No gods. No magic. No Cyclops (yet). Just men, war and consequence.
Now, forget glossy “Greek chic.” This feels like Dunkirk meets Gladiator with a dash of myth. The palette? Bronze and ash, waves and firelight. Costumes? Serviceable, not revolutionary; tunics, armour, sandals. Some fans online are already mad about “accuracy,” but honestly, Homer isn’t a history book. It’s a poem, a memory. I’d rather Nolan give me thematic fidelity over a bore-tusk helmet.
And Ludwig Göransson’s score? Already iconic (Refer to my Sinners review). A single low hum, like a wave building. Then the drums. Then the strings pulled tight like Odysseus’ bow. When the Trojan Horse appears, the sound explodes like war horns. Goosebumps.
The Cast: A Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-It Ensemble
Matt Damon looks incredible as Odysseus. Haunted eyes, jaw clenched, a man who’s seen too much. Zendaya appears for half a second in shadow, Robert Pattinson smirks in smoke and Charlize Theron walks like someone you don’t want to cross. Nyong’o owns every frame she’s in. And if she is playing both Helen and Clytemnestra? That’s bold, even for Nolan.
Nolan isn’t chasing franchise synergy or multiverse cameos. He’s chasing something old, something primal: a story about endurance, loyalty, and the cost of homecoming. The gods are gone. Choices matter. And that fits Nolan perfectly—his worlds are built on obsession and consequence.
Also, the theatrical-first strategy? Chef’s kiss. This isn’t content. It’s an absolute cinema. For two minutes, you remember what movies can be: communal, overwhelming, sacred.
Final Thoughts
Walking out of the IMAX, I felt happy for catching up on both Fantastic Four and The Odyssey. Even though just a storm of images and a promise, this will surely be an event.
Mark it: The Odyssey lands July 17, 2026. Until then, if you want that first glimpse, you know what to do: buy the IMAX ticket, sit in the dark, and let the waves hit you.
And yes, people clapped.
P/S: Also caught the trailer for the third instalment in James Cameron’s Avatar universe, Avatar: Fire and Ash. It was nice, I guess.
