Christopher Nolan's next film is officially The Odysseyand the reveal doesn't even come close to the rumored plot of the film, which is for the best. Since Nolan finished work on Oppenheimer and won several Oscars – including Best Picture and Best Director, there was great curiosity about what he would do next. Anticipation only grew as the cast list began to come together, with Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o and Robert Pattinson set to appear.
It has now been confirmed that Christopher Nolan's next film will be The Odysseyan adaptation of Homer's Greek epic poem. After tackling true stories, original science fiction, and graphic novels for so long, Nolan's decision to adapt Homer's poem was unexpected. There was never any doubt that whatever he did next would be big, and Nolan's typical secrecy left the internet abuzz with various rumors about what he wanted to do next. However, Christopher Nolan The Odyssey It wasn't one of the rumored possibilities, which now seems truly wild in retrospect.
There have been some crazy rumors about what Christopher Nolan's new film would be like
Vampires, helicopters and old remakes
Just as Christopher Nolan's next film began to gain traction, several rumors arose about what he would do. The first suggestion of Variety about the film was that Nolan was planning to remake the British spy/mystery/sci-fi TV show The prisoner. This idea circulated for a while, mainly because the director had already thought about approaching the property in 2009. However, Deadline reported in October 2024 that Nolan's new film was not his remake of The prisoner. This opened the door for the rumor mill to start again.
Gizmodo released a rumor that Christopher Nolan's next film would be a horror film. More specifically, the outlet noted that it would be a vampire film set in the 1920s. There was also a rumor circulating that Dark Horizons that Nolan's next film was a helicopter action film heavily inspired by, if not directly remade, the 1983 film Blue Thunder. Those were the two rumors that remained at the forefront of discussion about Nolan's next film. The Odyssey it's not even close to being a vampire horror movie or a helicopter action movie, proving those rumors very wrong.
The Odyssey is a much better result for Christopher Nolan's new film
The Greek epic is a better fit for Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan's ideas making The prisoner remake, a vampire movie or a helicopter movie were certainly enough to create excitement. It's easy to imagine how the director would put a unique spin on each of these concepts and deliver something special. However, Nolan also holds unique power in Hollywood thanks to how great it is, regardless of the concept. This was proven once again with Oppenheimeras only he could turn a 3-hour biopic into an event film that grossed almost $1 billion. Anyone can make a vampire or helicopter movie in Hollywood now.
However, Nolan may be one of the only directors who has secured studio financing to make an epic adaptation of a tale as grand and iconic as The Odyssey. A film that fully embraces Homer's original writings and Odysseus's adventure needs to be on a mass scale and with a huge budget to be done correctly. Christopher Nolan has the power to do this, so this could be what drove him to do it The Odyssey. Maybe after this Greek epic, he'll want to do vampires, helicopters or espionage.
Sources: Variety, Deadline, Gizmodo, Dark Horizons
- Release date
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July 17, 2026