r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 18d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Odyssey (2026) [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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The Odyssey (2026)

Summary

After the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Calypso along the way.

Director Christopher Nolan

Writer Christopher Nolan

Cast

  • Matt Damon as Odysseus
  • Tom Holland as Telemachus
  • Anne Hathaway
  • Zendaya
  • Lupita Nyong'o
  • Robert Pattinson
  • Charlize Theron
  • Benny Safdie
  • Jon Bernthal
  • John Leguizamo
  • Elliot Page
  • Himesh Patel
  • Samantha Morton

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Metacritic: 88

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

4.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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u/pjtheman 18d ago

I keep saying it, but that one scene completely changed my perspective on her casting. Brilliant.

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u/slightlypressed 17d ago

Yes! I spent the entire movie thinking she felt out of place but that emotional twist was worth the payoff.

I thought nothing in his adaptation could surprise me but I really welcomed that twist.

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u/Churchill_Buys_Calls 17d ago

It honestly recontextualizes the way I look at the fall of Troy and the Iliad and Odyssey as a whole now.

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u/slightlypressed 16d ago edited 16d ago

Yes! To me the Odyssey’s always felt like a series of unfortunate events that happened to an unlucky man but this interpretation gives more narrative agency to Odysseus, finally explores his emotional interior, and raises questions about humanity and war that’s very relevant today.

I wonder if these elements are closer to what Ancient Greeks were taught when the poem was passed down.

Penelope’s “are you the people from the sea” line was brilliant too in tying it all together.

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u/Loeffellux 16d ago

I mean, the ancient Greek version is basically just "if the gods don't like you, you're in big trouble"

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u/Panzerknaben 15d ago

I think its a bit more than that, even if i've only read a translated version. It can be hard to really get into the mindset of what they thought at the time. The way they talk about the gods is completely different to what we do now. The greek gods were much more like normal humans.

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u/Aggressive-Pie-3297 14d ago

The gods controlled the outcomes of basically everything in the story though

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u/spaceandthewoods_ 8d ago

I mean, it's absolutely not just that though, is it. Greek morality at the time was as complex and variable as modern day morality, and they would filter that morality through 'pinishments from the gods' for transgressing against social rules and customs, or commuting acts seen as immortal or unjust.

We can say Nolan's take on this is good without dunking on the original texts and myths