Christopher Nolan Wraps The Filming Of ‘The Odyssey’

An ensemble cast led by Matt Damon and Tom Holland concludes a six-month global shoot for the $250 million epic, which is now facing backlash for filming in a politically disputed region.

August 9, 2025: Christopher Nolan, a well-known director, has finished making his highly anticipated movie, The Odyssey. The cast and crew spent six months filming all over the world, on numerous continents. The elaborate recreation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, which is said to have cost $250 million, will come out in theaters and IMAX on July 17, 2026.

Matt Damon plays Odysseus, Tom Holland plays his son Telemachus, and Anne Hathaway plays his wife Penelope in this star-studded cast. Zendaya plays the goddess Athena, Lupita Nyong’o plays Calypso, and Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron have important roles in the movie. Nolan worked with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema again, this time employing new IMAX cameras to bring the epic story to life.

There has been some controversy around the making of the movie, which took place in places as far away as Italy and Greece and as close to home as Iceland and Los Angeles. Nolan has been criticized for choosing to film important scenes in Western Sahara, which the United Nations calls “non-self-governing” and which Morocco mostly controls.

The decision has been openly challenged by activists and human rights groups, such as the Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara). The festival said in a statement that by filming in an occupied territory, Nolan and his team are “contributing to Morocco’s repression of the Sahrawi people,” even if they don’t realize it. The festival has asked the production to stand with the native people and understand what their presence in the area means politically.

Even though there was a lot of talk about it, early audience demand for the movie has been huge. Tickets for its debut in IMAX 70mm sold out in record time and are now going for crazy sums on resale sites.