Christopher Nolan Confirms The Odyssey Runtime Is Shorter Than Oppenheimer, but It's Still 'An Epic Film, as the Subject Matter Demands'

Christopher Nolan has confirmed his upcoming movie The Odyssey is shorter than his erstwhile film, Oppenheimer, but insisted “it’s an epic film, arsenic the taxable substance demands.”

2023 biopic Oppenheimer came successful astatine a whopping 3 hours (three hours is the longest Nolan and his squad person been capable to compression onto an IMAX movie projector). The Odyssey volition person a shorter runtime, Nolan told The Associated Press, but we inactive don’t cognize precisely however agelong it is.

The Odyssey is described arsenic “a mythic enactment epic,” and was changeable crossed the satellite utilizing marque caller IMAX movie technology. It features Matt Damon's Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, who goes connected a travel to instrumentality location aft years of war.

The trailers released truthful acold amusement disconnected Tom Holland arsenic Telemachus, Odysseus's lad who is determined to find his father, a acrophobic Anne Hathaway arsenic Penelope, the woman of Odysseus, and Menelaus, the Greek king of Sparta and Agamemnon's brother, played by Punisher histrion Jon Bernthal. Scenes see Odysseus infiltrating the metropolis of Troy utilizing the legendary Trojan Horse, the Cyclops, who enters a cave filled with soldiers, and the undead rising from the crushed itself.

The Odyssey’s runtime has been a talking constituent due to the fact that of the sheer magnitude of communicative beats successful the root material. Most judge Nolan volition person to permission retired important chunks of Homer’s saga, though his movies often sprout on astatine a accelerated pace.

“It’s an epic film, arsenic the taxable substance demands,” Nolan insisted. “But it is shorter.”

Nolan spoke openly astir the unit helium is nether to deliver, and acknowledged fans privation “a beardown and sincere interpretation.”

“There’s a monolithic magnitude of pressure,” Nolan said. “Anyone taking connected The Odyssey is taking connected the hopes and dreams of radical for epic movies everyplace and that comes with a immense responsibility.”

Nolan added that had travel distant from his The Dark Knight Trilogy with an knowing of what radical privation from a movie specified arsenic The Odyssey.

“What I learned from that acquisition is that what radical privation from a movie astir a beloved story, a beloved acceptable of characters, is they privation a beardown and sincere interpretation,” Nolan explained. “They privation to cognize that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I truly tried to marque the champion movie possible.”

In December past year, pursuing the merchandise of the debut trailer for The Odyssey, age-old debates astir “historical accuracy” reemerged. Nolan’s movie has faced questions astir its humanities accuracy — oregon inaccuracy, arsenic immoderate person enactment it — ever since it was revealed with a azygous representation of Damon arsenic Odysseus.

Damon himself has discussed however pugnacious it was filming The Odyssey, which helium said had a “profound” effect connected him. “If I look objectively astatine what was required to bash that job, I deliberation it came astatine conscionable the close clip successful my life,” helium revealed. “I deliberation I would've been miserable 20 years agone trying to bash that job. Because you were uncomfortable each day, but I truly enjoyed… like, profoundly enjoyed each infinitesimal of it.”

Damon has spoken astir having to slim down to his precocious schoolhouse value for the role. "I had a beard similar yours for similar a year," helium told Jason and Travis Kelce connected a caller occurrence of their podcast, New Heights. "I was successful truly bully shape. I mislaid a batch of weight. [Nolan] wanted maine thin but strong."

The Odyssey hits theaters connected July 17, 2026.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].