Christopher Nolan reveals the 2 films he watched to prep for The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan is charting The Odyssey with two all-time classics as his north stars — the films guiding his bold new take on the epic.
Not long now until Universal gives us what could easily be the year's biggest cinematic spectacle: Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Nolan is having a rather unstoppable run lately, coming fresh off Oppenheimer – which, by the way, is now one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies ever made (nearly $1 billion worldwide and seven Oscars, if you're still keeping count). Now he’s turning his attention from atom bombs to ancient gods and monsters, dragging us all the way back to the blood-soaked aftermath of the Trojan War.
The Nolan Take on Homer
For anyone who skipped classics at school: Homer’s poem The Odyssey – written well over two and a half thousand years ago – charts Odysseus’ epic, decade-long trek home to Ithaca after Troy. We’re talking shipwrecks, sea monsters, cannibals, scheming gods, angry wives, and enough drama to fill nine seasons of prestige telly. Odysseus just wants to get home before a mob of chancers nick his throne and get cosy with his queen.
Nolan Lifts The Curtain
So what goes through Nolan’s mind when reconstructing ancient myth for the IMAX age? Turns out, not quite what you’d expect. Chatting with The New York Times, Nolan named two films in particular that inspired his approach: Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev (1966) and Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985). Not exactly Saturday night popcorn fare. He’s got taste, give him that.
'Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev" made quite an impression on everybody; the textures are pretty remarkable. One of the films I screened as a bit of a flier, like I didn't really know whether it would be relevant, was Kurosawa's "Ran." It's shot very differently, but there's this relationship between the environment and the wind. Now that I look at [our] finished film, I think it was a huge influence.'
Why These Films?
Let’s break down those references for anyone whose knowledge of mid-century Russian cinema is a bit patchy. Andrei Rublev tells the tale of a 15th-century Russian icon painter, wrestling with faith, art and very literal violence as Russia goes off the rails. The visuals are famously raw – think mud, fire, churches burning – proper ‘feel it in your bones’ stuff.
Ran, on the other hand, is Kurosawa’s massive, windswept take on King Lear, set in feudal Japan. It's all about an ageing ruler handing the kingdom to his sons – terrible idea, turns out – and everything going spectacularly wrong. The film’s big calling card: landscapes battered by wind and bleak weather, underscoring how nature itself gets tangled up in the drama.
So, Nolan’s nod to both isn’t just film-buff posturing. Both movies adapt iconic literary works and centre around power, home, and families coming apart at the seams – exactly what’s at the heart of The Odyssey. Plus, no one does elemental spectacle quite like Tarkovsky and Kurosawa, which gives you a hint about the scale Nolan’s aiming for here.
What Do We Actually Know?
- Release date: 17 July 2026 – so set your reminders, assuming no studios decide to shuffle things about
- Director: Christopher Nolan, back at Universal after Oppenheimer
- Source material: Homer’s The Odyssey – all shipwrecks, Cyclops, gods, and long-suffering spouses
- Visual inspirations: Andrei Rublev (for, as Nolan puts it, the texture and overall impact), and Ran (specifically the way it handles landscapes and atmosphere)
- Background: Nolan’s a vocal fan of classic cinema and proper physical media, so big, sweeping influences are nothing new for him