Christopher Nolan somewhat surprisingly shared the first look at The Odyssey with the film’s release still more than a year away, but he had a very good reason for doing so. The image that Nolan shared was of Matt Damon in what appears to be some exaggerated Greek armor, and it was subsequently confirmed that Damon will portray the movie’s hero Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca. The Odyssey will be an adaptation of the Homeric poem of the same name, which follows the exploits of Odysseus and his crew on their 10-year journey home from the Trojan War.

The cast list for what should be an epic action-fantasy adventure is loaded with people that Nolan has worked with before, and it was feasible that several of the A-listers in the ever-growing cast could portray Odysseus. Nolan’s confirmation of Damon in the role wasn’t necessarily a surprise, but him doing so with an actual image of the actor in costume and on set was completely unexpected given that the movie’s release date isn’t until summer 2026. However, Nolan had a legitimate reason to get ahead of the paparazzi who will certainly be after set pH๏τos in the coming year.

The Odyssey Is Likely About To Film A Lot Of Outdoor Scenes

Most Of The Narrative Takes Place On The Sea Or Island Locations

While Nolan’s movie will certainly not cover all the events of Homer’s Odyssey due to runtime, it will likely include many noteworthy events from the narrative. Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War takes place largely on the sea or the islands of the Mediterranean, both real and mythical. If Nolan means to capture them in a largely practical sense as opposed to leaning on CGI, as he is known to do, that means that many of the scenes will have to be sH๏τ outside, taking advantage of real-world locations and natural elements as opposed to adding them in post-production.

With so many scenes sH๏τ away from sound stages and green screens, the paparazzi seeking on-set pH๏τos of the myriad megastars in the cast will be ravenous. By releasing the first look at The Odyssey himself, Nolan gets to control the media frenzy that would come from such an image, and hopefully that will help keep the more ambitious set-stalkers at bay. With so many outdoor scenes, it is all but inevitable that more pH๏τos from the sets will leak, but this way Nolan himself gets to make the biggest splash, especially given that Nolan will be shooting on location.

The Odyssey Filming On Location Is One Of The Most Exciting Things About Nolan’s Epic

It Could Be Nolan’s Most Visually Captivating Movie Yet

Nolan’s movies are marked by authenticity and practically-created effects that yield visually stunning images to support Nolan’s mind-bending stories. Now that filming locations have been revealed for The Odyssey, it’s clear that Nolan intends to actually capture the landscapes and climates of the Mediterranean islands. Nolan will shoot in parts of Sicily, specifically around the crystal-clear waters of the island of Favignana, where some of the events depicted in The Odyssey are reported to have taken place.

It’s an extremely exciting element of the movie’s production, as the genuine settings are sure to enhance the visuals for Nolan’s epic. With Nolan shooting on location, he’ll be able to take advantage of the natural elements of the Mediterranean to create something that stands out in modern movies, which are all-too-often filled with very obvious CGI. As visually rich as movies like Inception, Oppenheimer, and Tenet have been, The Odyssey could outshine them all, especially given The Odyssey‘s ambitious budget.