The famed Dark Knight trilogy director who goes for as much realism as possible will film on the very locations as depicted in Homer’s epic.
Christopher Nolan is known for his realism in movies and his passion for shooting practically whenever he can. The director of The Dark Knight trilogy has flipped a semi-truck longways, hung a plane vertically from another plane and even crashed a plane into a hanger for real when the logistics he calculated stated that it would actually be cheaper to do so instead of turning to CGI. And while there are some things that just can’t be done practically (like, say, filming an atomic blast for Oppenheimer), Nolan hasn’t lost his passion for being as truthful to his production as he possibly can. And let’s face it, he probably won’t have a shortage of money provided by the studio at his current status.
Variety is reporting that Nolan is set to film parts of his new epic, The Odyssey, in Sicily. According to scholars, Odysseus’ travels would land him there, as told by Homer’s epic around 8th century BCE. Most notably, in the coming months, Nolan is planning to film on Favignana, Sicily’s “Goat Island,” which is “believed to be the place where Homer envisioned Odysseus landed with his motley crew to barbecue goats and stock up on food. The idyllic isle is part of the Egadi archipelago off of Sicily’s north-west coast.” It was recently reported that The Odyssey will have a budget of $250 million, which will probably balloon with reshoots, marketing and any unexpected costs.
The Odyssey is an ancient Greek poem by Homer that tells the tale of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey home after the ten-year Trojan War. The trip was perilous, including encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the witch-goddess Circe. At home, Odysseus is presumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must contend with groups of unruly suitors who each want Penelope’s hand in marriage to control the kingdom.
The Odyssey features an all-star cast that includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, and Zendaya. There has yet to be an announcement on what roles each actor will be playing.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey plans to shoot around the globe using new IMAX technology, a prospect with cinephiles salivating. Nolan, of course, is one of the biggest proponents of the IMAX film format. He’s known to push the limits of what IMAX can capture on screens, pairing superior visual presentation with dynamic audio design that leaves general theater sound systems in the dust.