Matt Damon appears battle-ready in Trojan armor for a first look at Odysseus for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Universal Pictures and Christopher Nolan are making this Monday mythological with a first look at Matt Damon as Odysseus for the filmmaker’s assuredly epic adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. The image shared online shows Damon in the world-famous character’s battle armor. The side-angled shot gives us a peek at Damon’s salty beard, battle scars, and world-weary look.
Homer’s The Odyssey, and by the same token, Nolan’s highly-anticipated film follows Odysseus in his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, showcasing his encounters with Polyphemus, the Sirens, Circe, and finishing with his reunion with his wife, Penelope.
Like any other Christopher Nolan film, the cast is positively stacked with many of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters, including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Mia GOth, Elliot Page, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, John Leguizamo, Will Yun Lee, Benny Safdie, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Corey Hawkins, Nick E. Tarabay, and more.
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.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey plans to shoot globally 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.
When Universal Pictures officially announced the project last year, the studio described it as “a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology.” Production is slated to kick off at the end of the month, and some reports state that this could be Nolan’s most expensive film to date. It’s expected to cost $250 million but could very easily go higher.
Nolan is never one to take the cheap route, and he will be filming all over the world for The Odyssey, including the actual locations where Odysseus was believed to have been. A recent report stated that Nolan will shoot part of the 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.”
What do you think about Matt Damon’s look for The Odyssey? Let us know in the comments section below.
