Christopher Nolan’s take on The Odyssey is shaping up to be one of the biggest blockbusters of next year, if not the decade. Oppenheimer‘s box office success and near-sweep at the Academy Awards in 2023 left the world eager to see exactly how Nolan spends his proverbial blank check… but apparently, one of that film’s stars is thankful to not be included this time around.
In a recent interview with Variety, Cillian Murphy addressed the fact that he’s not among The Odyssey‘s massive ensemble cast, after previously starring in Oppenheimer‘s titular role and also appearing in Nolan’s Inception, Dunkirk, and The Dark Knight trilogy. The actor, whose attitude towards fame and Hollywood has made headlines a lot already, revealed that his absence is far from a tragedy, and that he’s actually “relieved” to not be involved in such a massive film.
“Is there a trailer? I have ROMO: ‘Relief of missing out,’” Murphy joked. “No, I can’t wait to see it. If any director in the world could tackle The Odyssey, it’s going to be Christopher Nolan. I am so excited to see it. He is one in a million. He’s been a huge part of my life as an actor. I can’t wait to see what he does with it.”
Is Cillian Murphy’s absence a Greek tragedy?
While Nolan is known for building a sort of repertoire of actors across multiple projects, Murphy is far from the first (or probably last) to sit out of one of the director’s particular projects. But after Murphy’s take on the (often-complicated) nature of the real-life J. Robert Oppenheimer won him the Best Actor Oscar and catapulted him into a new stratosphere of fame (and meme status), some fans definitely expected to see him remain in the Nolan fold, even in a smaller supporting role.
Based on Murphy’s comments, we now know that isn’t the case, and that he most likely won’t appear in some surprise secret role a la Matt Damon in Interstellar. At very least, we can expect to see Murphy on the screen multiple times over, as he has roles in the upcoming Netflix film Steve later this fall, as well as next year’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and the long-hyped movie sequel to Peaky Blinders.
In Murphy’s absence, the cast of The Odyssey is led by Matt Damon as Odysseus and Tom Holland as Telemachus, with Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, and Elliot Page all cast in currently-unknown roles.
Nolan is directing and writing The Odyssey, based on Homer’s epic poem of the same name. The film, which reportedly has a budget of $250 million, has already made waves multiple times over. Its first teaser trailer, which could only be seen in theaters before screenings of Jurassic World Rebirth and other summer blockbusters, immediately gave audiences an indication of Nolan’s vision for the centuries-old tale. And opening weekend screenings of the film in IMAX 35MM format have already sold out over a year in advance, with some tickets selling for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market.
The Odyssey will be released exclusively in theaters on July 17, 2026.
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