Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming historical epic The Odyssey is being shot entirely on IMAX cameras, becoming the first commercial feature film to do so.
IMAX chief Rich Gelfond confirmed the news at the company’s annual press lunch at the Cannes film festival on Thursday.
“A year before Chris started filming The Odyssey, he called me and said he wanted to make a whole film shot with IMAX cameras. That couldn’t be done for a lot of reasons,” Gelfond said, according to Deadline.
“Chris called me up and said if you can figure out how to solve the problems, I will make it 100 per cent in IMAX. And that’s what we’re doing. He forced us to rethink that side of our business, our film recorders, our film cameras. So, this will be the first film ever, at least filmed 100 per cent, with IMAX cameras.”
An adaptation of Homer’s epic Greek poem, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as the legendary hero Odysseus. It’s still unclear who is playing the other characters, but the cast includes the likes of Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, and Anne Hathaway. More recent casting announcements include Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Benny Safdie, and Elliot Page.
In Homer’s poem, Odysseus, king of the Greek island of Ithaca, embarks on a long journey home after the end of the Trojan War. His “odyssey” proves perilous as he meets numerous threats and mythological creatures on his way.
Nolan’s oppenheimer">Oppenheimer, which grossed $975.8m worldwide, made over $190m from IMAX screens alone.
The new IMAX cameras, which are reportedly lighter and 30 per cent quieter, will eliminate the usual problems that crop up with cameras, like scanning and processing of the film stock, and will allow the director to watch dailies easily while filming.
IMAX plans to rent out the new cameras being used by Nolan once the Tenet director is finished.
Several recent films, such as Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and the latest installment of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible, shot portions using IMAX cameras or IMAX-approved cameras.
According to US media reports, The Odyssey is set to be the most expensive film of Nolan’s career, with a $250m budget.
His previous feature, Oppenheimer, which won seven Oscars, was made on a $100m budget. The Dark Knight Rises also cost around $250m.
The Odyssey will partially be shot on the island of Favignana in Sicily. Favignana is understood to be where Odysseus and his crew landed, collected food, and barbecued goats in Homer’s 8th century BC tale. The island is part of the Egadi archipelago off Sicily’s northwest coast. Other filming locations include the UK and Morocco.
The Odyssey will be released in theatres on 17 July 2026.
