Christopher Nolan's big-screen adaptation of Homer's ancient epic has already smashed box office records - but beneath the spectacle are some details even devoted fans might have missed. Here are 10 surprising facts about "The Odyssey."
1. It's the most expensive film of Nolan's career. With an estimated $250 million budget, "The Odyssey" surpasses every other film Nolan has directed, including "Oppenheimer" and "Tenet."
2. It was shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film - a first for any adaptation of Homer's work, and part of why only about 25 U.S. theaters can show it exactly as Nolan intended.
3. The production spanned six countries, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, and Malta, with additional scenes built on Los Angeles soundstages.
4. Nolan drew heavily from a specific modern translation. Rather than older, more traditional texts, Nolan based much of his adaptation on classicist Emily Wilson's acclaimed 2017 translation of "The Odyssey."
5. One major character isn't from Homer's poem at all. Elliot Page plays Sinon, a figure tied to the Trojan Horse legend - but Sinon never actually appears in either "The Odyssey" or "The Iliad."
6. It reunites a real-life couple on screen. Tom Holland and Zendaya, previously co-stars in the "Spider-Man" franchise, appear together again as Telemachus and Athena.
7. Lupita Nyong'o plays two roles. She portrays both Helen of Troy and Helen's sister, Clytemnestra.
8. It broke Matt Damon's career opening-weekend record, debuting with $124.5 million domestically and becoming the biggest global opening of Nolan's career, surpassing even "Oppenheimer."
9. Nolan deliberately minimized the Greek gods' visible presence compared to Homer's original poem, favoring ambiguity over overt divine spectacle.
10. Several Christian film reviewers have noted the movie's surprisingly Judeo-Christian undercurrents. Critics at Plugged In and Catholic Review pointed out that one character describes the story's central moral code in terms strikingly similar to the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12, and a pivotal turning point for Odysseus is framed as a "leap of faith" that resembles a baptism. Movieguide added that the film emphasizes hospitality, family loyalty, and good triumphing over evil - themes that resonated with faith-based audiences despite the film's pagan mythological backdrop.
Whether or not those parallels were intentional, they've become one of the most talked-about surprises of Nolan's latest epic.
Related Article: Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" Smashes Box Office Records With $124.5M Debut, Matt Damon's Biggest Opening Ever
