Matt Damon will play Odysseus: a still from Christopher Nolan's new movie shown online

Not so long ago, it became known that Christopher Nolan's next film project will be an adaptation of the poem "The Odyssey" by the ancient Greek author Homer. And now Universal Studios has not only announced the name of the actor who will portray the main character but also showed the first shot with him.

According to Variety, the ancient hero will be portrayed by actor Matt Damon. A shot of him in the costume of the legendary King of Ithaca appeared on the film's official account on social network X. Along with the date of the film's premiere. It will be released on July 17, 2026.

The film will also star Mia Goth, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. They will embody different characters in the poem, which tells the story of Odysseus' long journey home to his native Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War.

Universal, Nolan's longtime partner and distributor, said in December that The Odyssey is "a mythical action movie shot around the world using the new IMAX cinema technology." Nolan wrote the screenplay for the film and is also the director and producer of the project.

It is known that part of the filming will take place in Sicily, which is one of the locations of the original poem. The production, which is due to begin in the spring, will start on the Italian island of Favignana, popularly known as the "goat island." It is believed that this is where, according to Homer, Odysseus and his crew were supposed to land.

"The Odyssey" is the third collaboration between Nolan and Damon. The actor previously appeared in a minor role in the biopic "Oppenheimer" and also played a small role in Nolan's sci-fi epic "Interstellar."

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