The Odyssey is already one of the most anticipated films of 2026, and Christopher Nolan is hopefully looking to these lessons from his previous films while making the epic. After the mᴀssive critical and commercial success of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan decided to raise the stakes by making his next film an adaptation of one of the world’s foundational epics. The Odyssey has endured for centuries as a major piece of artistic history, and now it’s getting the big screen treatment on the largest scale possible.

The Odyssey‘s cast has been largely confirmed (even if their exact parts largely remain unknown), raising plenty of questions about how the adaptation process will go and which elements of the story Nolan will tweak for the big screen. The fantasy epic is in many ways a departure for Nolan, given his older movies. However, some aspects of the movie are easier to predict than others. Looking at Nolan’s previous films, here are the seven biggest lessons the filmmaker should take from his other movies to The Odyssey.

7

Odysseus Can Take The Typical Nolan Protagonist To A Mythic Level

Odysseus Bears A Lot In Common With The Standard Christopher Nolan Protagonist

The Odyssey makes perfect sense as a Christopher Nolan adaptation, given the core character traits baked into the character that are reflected across many of Nolan’s other protagonists. Many of the characters Christopher Nolan seems to be drawn to as a filmmaker are troubled men with great intellect but troubled histories. Bruce Wayne, Dom Cobb, Robert Angier, Alfred Borden, Joseph Cooper, and J. Robert Oppenheimer are all brilliant men who struggle with their grief and guilt, which is also an apt description of Odysseus.

The Odyssey needs to lean into the duality of Odysseus the crafty and haughty explorer with the Odysseus who just wants to go home but can’t forget the horrors he’s committed in the name of man and God alike. Odysseus is sometimes unlikable, a tricky character trait to give your protagonist, but something Nolan has played with in The Prestige and The Following. Odysseus is a complex character, an impressive man whose flaws always follow him. If Nolan takes an approach to the character that reflects years of refining that archetype in other films, his Odysseus could be perfect.

6

Christopher Nolan Needs To Make Sure Odysseus’ Crew Gets The Spotlight They Need

Making Odysseus’ Crew Genuine Characters Would Make Their Fates More Effective

Odysseus isn’t the only character who needs to get a spotlight on his adventures, even if he is the only one who fully completes the arduous journey back to Ithaca. The other members of Odysseus’ crew are minor characters in the narrative but important storytelling devices, given their habit of being killed off to illustrate the dangers Odysseus encounters and the consequences of angering mythical forces. However, for those deaths to really land, the audience needs to care about Odysseus’ crew. This is where Nolan’s experience in ensemble films comes in handy.

Even when the focus of the story has been rooted in one or two characters, many of Christopher Nolan’s films have been bolstered by a strong supporting cast. The Odyssey needs to do the same, which would help flesh out the largely nameless crew into memorable side characters (whose subsequent deaths during the adventure would be more effective as a result). Other Nolan films like Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy have benefited greatly from a strong supporting cast, a strength Nolan needs to replicate in his scripting for The Odyssey.

5

Has Great Villains That Nolan Needs To Reimagine

The Monsters Of The Odyssey Should Be More Than Just Threats

The Odyssey is a unique epic from a modern perspective in the sense that the adventure has many minor villains but no grand antagonist. While Odysseus and his crew anger the Gods, they aren’t depicted as some singular villainous force to overcome. The various monsters, sorceresses, and deities that Odysseus encounters during his adventures are all threats in their own right, and in the wrong hands, they could just blend together or be one note. The hope is that Nolan will bring some specific personality and fervor to each of these dangers.

Films like The Dark Knight Trilogy and Oppenheimer proved how adept Nolan can be with a range of villains, from the bombastic heights of the Joker to the more muted and grounded cruelty of people like Lewis Strauss. Nolan should make sure that each villain has a clear sense of personality and motivation, which will ensure each of the fantastical enemies stands out from the centuries of monsters and villains the tales of Odysseus inspired. If Nolan can make the villains feel human while still being monstrous, he could produce one of the best mythological adaptations ever.

4

Christopher Nolan’s Female Characters Need To Be More Developed

The Odyssey Has Three Great Women Who Could Deflect A Common Nolan Criticism

A common criticism of Christopher Nolan’s films is that many of the female characters can feel one-note in comparison to other figures in the story. While there are some exceptions, Nolan’s female characters have rarely been given the depth of character that the other male characters often do. The Odyssey is the perfect place to subvert that, especially given the relatively few prominent female characters in the story. However, the likes of Athena, Circe, and Penelope could prove to be the beating heart of the story.

Athena’s guidance and love give Odysseus the chance to return home, serving as a sympathetic window into the Greek Pantheon. Circe could be a basic sea-witch, or the film delves deeper into why she falls for Odysseus and the genuine heartbreak she feels about his love for another. In some adaptations, Penelope can be too pᴀssive in adaptations., but rather needs to be the enduring and defiant figure that would drive Odysseus to return home. Nolan needs to match the level of humanity that strong adaptations (like The Return) give to female characters like Penelope to make those storylines land.

3

The Odyssey Needs To Be More Epic Than Anything Nolan Has Done Before

The Odyssey Needs To Be The Biggest Movie Of Christopher Nolan’s Career

Christopher Nolan has, in many ways, defined the modern interpretation of epic filmmaking. Movies like Inception and Tenet bent the laws of space and time in a way only film can make visual, while Dunkirk showcased Nolan’s ability to keep mᴀssive historical battles character-driven and grounded. This is one of the great challenges in adapting The Odyssey, a story that includes some of the foundational elements of modern adventure storytelling. Making that feel original, fresh, and fittingly epic is a monumental task, but one that Nolan’s filmography suggests he can handle.

Odysseus’ adventure has plenty of natural opportunities to show off Nolan’s approach to spectacle filmmaking, whether that be their voyages across the sea, their encounters with towering creatures, or adventures through the underworld. The latter is perhaps the sequence I’m most excited about, because the natural challenge of creating a vision of the afterlife gives Nolan perhaps his greatest creative canvas yet. If Nolan can embrace the spectacle he achieved with movies like Interstellar, then The Odyssey could become a high bar for future epics to pᴀss.

2

The Odyssey Can’t Be Afraid To Be Heartbreaking

There’s A Reason The Story Of Odysseus Has Endured For Centuries

The Odyssey, for all its exciting elements, is also a very bittersweet story. Odysseus’ pride and nobility is slowly stripped from him, with only his longing for his family driving him to finally return home. There’s a deeply bittersweet core to the story, which sees Odysseus commit great sins in the name of some Gods, only to be condemned by others. That’s all without even mentioning the pain faced by his crew, his wife, and his son. The Odyssey is in many ways a tragic tale, something that Christopher Nolan can’t forget while making the film.

Movies like Inception, Memento, and Oppenheimer have shown Nolan’s ability to mine loss for motivation, which suggests all the painful elements of the original story will make the leap to this new version. However, I’m personally hoping to see Nolan approach the romance storyline in The Odyssey as he did with the doomed love stories of The Prestige. That film’s ultimately tragic thread about the cost of love as the price of success was one of Nolan’s best ever tragic storylines. Bringing that energy to The Odyssey could be the key to emotionally grounding the story.

1

Christopher Nolan Needs To Embrace The Mythic Qualities Of The Odyssey

It’s Time For Nolan To Embrace The Unknown

Nolan’s movies have rarely been rooted in the supernatural, with even the great mysteries of life explored in films like Interstellar, Inception, The Prestige, and Tenet all rooted in a scientific angle. This consistent tone meant that when one of his films did swing for a more mythic approach (like the climax of The Dark Knight Rises), it doesn’t quite land right. This is one of the biggest question marks for The Odyssey, given the sheer volume of supernatural forces in the original narrative. I’m hoping Nolan learns from The Dark Knight Rises and doubles down on the mythic qualities.

Nolan’s approach to Batman, especially in his third film about the character, was rooted in the meaning of symbols and the importance of actions. That’s what to see from Nolan’s Osdysseus, especially after he’s survived his adventures and hears stories of his accomplishments, only to cry at the cost of his heroic adventures. By embracing that mythic scope and comparing it to the troubled man that Nolan will likely interpret Odysseus as, The Odyssey could prove to be one of the most powerful films Christopher Nolan has ever made.