In the first big announcement about the characters in Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's poem Odyssey, distributor Universal Pictures dropped an image of Matt Damon clad in a period costume on social media and described the character as 'Odysseus'. The film marks Damon's first lead hero role in a Nolan directorial. As reported earlier, The Odyssey follows the titular King of Ithaca's perilous journey home following the Trojan War. The story explores thematic elements of heroism, cunning, loyalty, and divine will. It includes the character's encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemus, the witch-goddess Circe, and mythical creatures called the Sirens.

The Odyssey reunites Damon with his Interstellar and Oppenheimer filmmaker Nolan, and the writer-director with his distributor of the Oscar Best Picture-winning Robert J Oppenheimer biopic. It also stars Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Samantha Morton, and Bill Irwin, among others.

Nolan's film, which is being shot with new Imax cameras and produced under his and his wife Emma Thomas' Syncopy Inc banner, is slated for a July 17, 2026, release in theatres.