Over the years, Christopher Nolan has become one of the leading voices in Hollywood advocating cinemas. That means not just seeing his movies in theaters, but their trailers as well.
So if you want to see the first teaser for Nolan’s upcoming epic “The Odyssey,” you have to hit up a screening of “Jurassic World Rebirth,” this weekend’s release from the same studio, Universal. Not only is the latest “Jurassic” movie expected to reap a major box office haul over the holiday, but the promise of news about “The Odyssey” may bring out Nolan’s loyal fans. He’s one of the few contemporary directors who inspires that kind of fervent anticipation for his films.
At a Wednesday morning screening of “Jurassic” at a Manhattan AMC, “The Odyssey” teaser played after the theater’s traditional pre-roll featuring Nicole Kidman waxing about the magic of the movies. The trailer itself, which runs a little over a minute long, is coy about revealing too much of Nolan’s take on Homer’s saga, which is set for release on July 17, 2026. It begins with extended shots of the sea and voice-over heralding Odysseus’s triumph in the Trojan War, a conquest that is alluded to by the appearance of a large horse structure and its imposing shadow. The first face we see is that of Tom Holland, who is playing Telemachus, the son of Odysseus.
“I have to find out what happened to my father,” he says, speaking to a man portrayed by Jon Bernthal, whose role is unconfirmed. Bernthal, maintaining the unvarnished tough guy demeanor that has made him a fan favorite on “The Bear,” asks Holland if he is interested in gossip, and then calls out to a room, “Who has a story about Odysseus?” A point of note is that all the characters are speaking English with American accents, even Holland, who is British.
The last shot finally reveals what appears to be the hero, played by a bearded Matt Damon, frail and marooned in the ocean. This leaves plenty unknown about how Nolan is tackling the massive story of Odysseus’s journey home, including how much of it he is covering and who stars like Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are playing.
Nolan has used this kind of roll out for his films’ trailers before. A peek at “Oppenheimer,” which would go on to win him best picture and best director at the 2024 Oscars, appeared before “Nope” in 2022. It’s a throwback to the days when “Star Wars” fans had to venture out to “Meet Joe Black” to get a glimpse of “The Phantom Menace” in 1998. But, of course, it’s not 1998 anymore. So while the “Odyssey” teaser hasn’t officially been released online by Universal, shakily filmed versions of it did leak Tuesday before being swiftly taken down.
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