Christopher Nolan's first film since Oppenheimer finally has a full trailer, and it is one of the biggest family-conversation movies of the summer. The new full-length trailer for The Odyssey was released on May 5, 2026, showing Matt Damon as Odysseus heading home from the Trojan War to rescue his wife and son, per the BBC, May 5. The film reaches theaters on July 17, with a reported production budget of $250 million — Nolan's biggest yet — and every frame shot on IMAX cameras.
The cast list reads like a box-office all-star game: Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Robert Pattinson as antagonist Antinous, Charlize Theron as Calypso and Zendaya as Athena, alongside Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong'o, Mia Goth and Himesh Patel, per the BBC, May 5.
A release-date showdown, again
July 17 is the same day Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens, a deliberate echo of the 2023 Barbenheimer weekend that turned two very different films into a joint event. Families should expect a similar dynamic: teens splitting into Team Odysseus and Team Peter Parker, and multiplexes programming both.
Nolan himself has framed the ancient poem in familiar terms, comparing Homer's epic to a modern franchise. The thing about Homer is it's the Marvel of its day, the director said, per the BBC, May 5. That comparison may be the best pitch yet for getting screen-obsessed kids interested in a 3,000-year-old poem — expect Homeric epics to fly off library shelves in July.
What should families know about content?
The Odyssey carries an R rating in the United States for violence, so it is aimed at older teens and adults rather than younger children — a departure from the PG and PG-13 titles dominating family calendars this year. Parents of mythology-obsessed tweens may prefer the growing shelf of retellings until the inevitable edited-for-TV versions arrive.
The premiere is expected in early July, followed by the wide release on July 17 in the US and UK. Tickets for Nolan films historically sell fastest in IMAX formats, and with the film shot entirely on IMAX cameras, the premium screens are the intended way to see it — worth booking early for summer-holiday outings with older kids.
- Trailer release: May 5, 2026
- Theatrical release: July 17, 2026
- Director: Christopher Nolan, first film since Oppenheimer
- Reported budget: $250 million, shot entirely on IMAX
For more context, read The Odyssey Opens to $124 Million, Christopher Nolan's Biggest Debut.
For more context, read spider-man brand new day trailer.
For more context, read toy story 5 opening weekend.