While the news thatChristopher Nolan’s next movie will be an adaptation ofThe Odysseyis exciting, this does represent a major departure for the director.All of Christopher Nolan’s moviesare different, but there are a few major thematic preoccupations that link the director’s works to each other. Nolan’s earlier efforts, likeFollowing,Memento, andInsomnia, all tackle the slippy nature of memory and the subjective nature of reality.HisDark Knighttrilogyis concerned with narratives of law and order against anarchy, and questions of what constitutes justice in a morally gray, ambitious world.
The Odyssey Explained: What Christopher Nolan’s 2026 Movie Is About
Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be a fresh cinematic adaptation of the Odyssey, one of history’s most impressive and enduring epics.
WhileInception,Interstellar, andTenetplay with time, physics, and nested realities, Nolan’s most recent movie,Oppenheimer, tackled real-life history. Although the director’s next movie was rumored to be aremake of the ‘60s miniseriesThe Prisoner,Varietyreported in late December 2024 that the helmer’s starry upcoming effort will in reality be an adaptation of Homer’sThe Odyssey. The Ancient Greek epic has been adapted to the screen numerous times before, but it is best known as one of the formative works in the Western literary canon. This makes the adaptation a considerable undertaking even for Nolan.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Adaptation Will Be His First Fantasy Film
Homer’s Epic Poem Features Numerous Mythological Characters
Although his earlier movies featured some elements that stretched credulity to its limits,The Odysseywill be Nolan’s first full-blown fantasy film.The Odysseymight have arrived in an era long before realism and fantasy were strictly delineated in storytelling but, with its plethora of fictional mythical beings,The Odysseyis undoubtedly a work of fantasy by modern standards. Odysseus’s long journey home sees him encounter beings that include the Cyclops, the Sirens, and Scylla and Charybdis, a pair of gigantic sea monsters. No retelling ofThe Odyssey, unless radically revised, could hope to downplay these fantasy elements.
Nolan’s The Odyssey movie challenges a 27-year streak that has helped shape his successful career to date.
This is fascinating since, despite many of his movies toying with genre tropes, Nolan has never been a fantasy filmmaker. HisDark Knighttrilogy won praise for tripping Batman not just of its campiness, but of the more outré elements of its earlier adaptations. Villains whose existence hinted at something supernatural were replaced by recognizably human antagonists, and the mysterious link between Catwoman and cats was jettisoned in favor of depicting Selina Kyle as a hyper-competent, but very much human, thief. Thus,Nolan’sThe Odysseymoviechallenges a 27-year streak that has helped shape his successful career to date.
Nolan’s Earlier Movies Flirted With Fantasy Elements
The Prestige, Inception, and Interstellar Feature Far-Fetched Plot Elements
Many of Nolan’s movies do touch on plot elements that are undeniably far-fetched.The Prestige,Interstellar,Tenet, andInceptionfeature cloning, time travel, and dream invasion, but these are consistently depicted as comparatively grounded scientific breakthroughs rather than outright magic.The Prestigeis a rare movie about magic that features no supernatural elementsand instead explains away all its twists via scientific innovation and straightforward trickery. This makes it hard to see how Nolan will handle monsters like Scylla and Charybdis, who are depicted as genuinely monstrous Lovecraftian entities rather than metaphorical monsters or merely symbolic hallucinations.
None of Nolan’s earlier movies could be characterized as full-blown fantasy, and all of them have been quick to explain the rules of their worlds when they diverge from reality.InceptionandTenetmight feature more far-fetched plot elements thanNolan’s rumoredThe Prisonerreboot, but they painstakingly break down how every element of their dream invasion and time travel stories work so they don’t feel fantastical or illogical. The same rubric can’t necessarily be applied toThe Odyssey, where a great many mythological monsters simply exist in the world of the story due to its Ancient Greek setting.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Revives A Risky Sub-Genre
The Historical Epic Fantasy Has A Mixed History
AlthoughGladiator 2was a hit, Nolan’sThe Odysseywill revive a risky sub-genre by adapting Homer’s iconic work. Historical epics are one thing, buthistorical epics that play fast and loose by blending history and fantasy are a risky, inconsistent propositionfor audiences. For everyImmortals,300, orClash of the Titans, there are many costly flops like 2016’sGods of Egypt. That said, theincredible cast of Nolan’s next moviemakes its potential success seem more likely, as does another franchise’s recent efforts. The success of theDunemovies bodes well for Nolan’s version ofThe Odyssey.
If Nolan approaches the world ofThe Odysseylike theDunemovies, his epic could succeed in winning over audiences.
Admittedly, theDunemovies are sci-fi rather than outright fantasy. However, their epic scope and involved world-building prove that viewers aren’t averse to worlds filled with semi-explained magic, political intrigue, and complex fictional histories. If Nolan approaches the world ofThe Odysseylike theDunemovies, treating this complex historical fantasy with reverence and presenting its surreal entities in a matter-of-fact manner, his epic could succeed in winning over audiences. After all, Nolan did manage to turn a three-hour biopic of the nuclear bomb’s conflicted architect into a mainstream summer blockbuster hit that rivalledBarbieat the box office.
Nolan’s Revision Of The Odyssey May Not Be A Fantasy Movie
There Are A Lot Of Very Varied Odyssey Retellings
There is one other course of action that Nolan could take with his new movie, and his recent efforts might shed some light on this even riskier approach. From James Joyce’s groundbreaking novelUlyssesto the Coen Brothers’ underrated comedyO Brother Where Arth Thou, there are a lot of non-fantasy retellings ofThe Odyssey. The myth plays a formative role in modern storytelling, so there are countless ways to retell it without keeping the original setting.Nolan’s version ofThe Odysseymight not be an epic historical fantasy at all, but rather a modernized version of the myth.
Nolan’s recent historical dramasDunkirkandOppenheimermay have left the director looking for a more modern story to tell.
This would make sense ofAnne Hathaway and Christopher Nolan’s reunion, as the actor previously played thoroughly modern characters for the director.The Dark Knight Rises’ streetwise Selina Kyle andInterstellar’s scientific genius Dr. Amelia Brand went as far from Ancient Greek heroines as characters could, and Nolan’s recent historical dramasDunkirkandOppenheimermay have left the director looking for a more modern story to tell. Everything will be revealed whenChristopher Nolan’sThe Odysseyarrives in 2026, although Universal’s announcement that the movie will be “A mythic action epic” makes a historical setting seem more likely.
