Christopher Nolan isn't buying Matt Damon's viral The Odyssey take

If you follow the cinematic circus, you might have clocked the latest back-and-forth between Christopher Nolan and Matt Damon about The Odyssey—Nolan's massive, globe-trotting epic that's been snapping up headlines lately. Damon chucked the first stone, not at Nolan specifically but at the state of filmmaking itself, dropping the rather bleak claim that The Odyssey felt like 'the last chance' he'd get to make a film like this—meaning, you know, the old-school, all-hands-on-deck, actually-travel-the-world shoot. Translation: Damon’s worried these practical, hands‑dirty productions are soon to be museum pieces thanks to the rise of digital trickery and AI meddling.

Nolan's Not Having It

Now, Nolan's not famous for holding his tongue, and he’s pushed back—politely but firmly—on Damon’s pessimism. Speaking to The Telegraph, Nolan basically said he gets where Damon’s coming from—the sheer scale of The Odyssey, huge casts, global locations, it does feel like something you don’t see every year. But then he shot down the whole 'last chance' narrative as unnecessarily fatalistic. In his words:

'I think I know what [Damon] was driving at, because it does seem like a long time since somebody made a film like this in this type of way, where you travel the world, get together a cast of thousands and so on. But there’s a defeatist aspect of viewing it that way that I don’t agree with. I think cinema is vital and essential and continues to transform itself — we’ve got all these great new young voices in movies, making the medium their own and moving it forward.'

So that's Nolan saying: stop writing cinema’s obituary every time someone gets nostalgic. Films evolve and don’t actually die off just because there are easier, cheaper routes these days.

Traditional Methods, Modern Battles

Anyone who’s tracked Nolan’s output won’t be surprised that he’s doubling down on practical filmmaking again. For The Odyssey, he went all-in on shiny new IMAX tech, dragged the crew halfway around the planet, and only allowed CG in when absolutely necessary—typical Nolan. What’s surprising is, even with all this excess, The Odyssey isn’t even his priciest film. Yes, those thousands of extras and far-flung locations apparently came in cheaper than you’d think (by Nolan standards, at least).

Early Buzz, Modern English, and Shrugging Off the Outrage

For those keeping score at home, Nolan’s managed to whip up a minor storm during the promo tour. When asked about the early grumbling from purists—mainly about his choice to have ancient Greeks speak modern English in the film—he dismissed the backlash as 'irrelevant.' There’s an argument to be made that he’s probably right, considering the initial reviews are lobbing round words like 'absolute triumph.' Not bad for something that’s apparently a dying breed.

• The Odyssey lands in cinemas on 17 July 2026.