New Rumor Claims Christopher Nolan Had Been Courting Robert Downey Jr. to Play Poseidon in THE ODYSSEY
Christopher Nolan is on a streak of large-scale films with star-studded casts and epic tales, and it looks like he’s going to take his next film up a notch, even for him.
The director is taking on the Homer’s classic The Odyssey, which follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) in his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, showcasing his encounters with Polyphemus, the Sirens, Circe, and finishing with his reunion with his wife, Penelope.
Damon is joined by Tom Holland (who is rumored to be playing Odysseus’s son, Telemachus), Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page and Mia Goth.
But if that wasn’t enough, a new rumor claims that Nolan was hoping to reunite with his Oppenheimer Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner, Robert Downey Jr. for the film as well.
According to Daniel Richtman, Nolan was courting RDJ for the role of Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea, but the actor was going to be too busy filming Avengers: Doomsday to make it work. The scooper has also heard that Nolan is staying "super faithful to the original story,” and is "determined to use as many practical effects, real sets, and as much makeup work as possible."
This follows a previous report that Nolan intends to shoot the movie's Cyclops scenes at Nestor’s Cave in Greece, and a 6x6m mechanical anthropomorphic puppet of Polyphemus is being created for the sequence.
It would have been cool to see Downey in the role, but he is fulfilling a highly anticipated obligation in the MCU, so Nolan will just have to fill his shoes with one of the other extremely talented actors lined up to work with him.
Universal Pictures said of the film, "Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand-new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026."
Who would you like to see play the role of Poseidon in The Odyssey?
