Jonathan Nolan Has Seen THE ODYSSEY and Calls it “An Incredible Achievement”
The 2026 movie calendar is stacked with big swings, but The Odyssey sits near the top of the list for a lot of film fans. Christopher Nolan stepping into ancient myth feels like a wild but exciting evolution for a filmmaker who’s never stayed in one lane for long.
While the rest of us are still waiting patiently, his brother Jonathan Nolan has already seen the film and he didn’t exactly play it cool when talking about it.
Jonathan recently spoke with CinemaBlend while promoting other projects, and the conversation naturally drifted toward his brother’s next epic. Even though he didn’t work on the movie, he confirmed he’s seen it and had nothing but praise. In his words:
“I'm not working on The Odyssey. I have seen The Odyssey. It's tremendous. It's an incredible achievement…. I was fascinated by the Iliad and The Odyssey when I was younger, and I had some fun conversations with Chris about where he's taking it. It's a spectacular film.”
Jonathan doubled down when asked if he’d actually watched the full film. His response was just as confident and just as enthusiastic:
“I’m not sure I’m supposed to say that but, yes, it's tremendous.”
Coming from someone who knows Nolan’s creative process better than most, that kind of endorsement is exciting.
The Odyssey adapts Homer’s ancient epic and follows the Greek king Odysseus as he struggles to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, facing monsters, gods, and impossible odds along the way. It also continues Christopher Nolan’s recent run of tackling stories outside the modern era, pushing his style into new terrain.
Jonathan also reflected on how long this journey has been for his older brother, dating all the way back to childhood experiments with a camera. He shared this personal memory:
“Some of my earliest memories are of Chris…. making films. He's seven — six or seven years older than me. And so, when I was two or three years old, he was already, you know — my mom had given him my dad's super eight camera, and he was already hard at work. So it's been a long journey.”
That journey now includes one of Nolan’s most technically ambitious productions yet. The film was shot entirely with IMAX cameras, continuing his long-standing collaboration with the format and pushing large-scale filmmaking even further.
The cast includes Matt Damon leading the charge as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron.
Early trailer footage already hints at a massive, myth-soaked spectacle, and The Odyssey sails into theaters on July 17, 2026. This is going to be one hell of a journey.