At its core, The Odyssey is a story about a man simply trying to get home. This is ground that Christopher Nolan has explored in very different circumstances in Interstellar, in which mind-bending dimensional physics allowed Matthew McConaughey’s astronaut Cooper to contact the daughter he left behind, Murphy, via a realm beyond space or time. But now, in his adaptation of The Odyssey, he’s getting right down to the original homecoming story – that of Odysseus (Matt Damon), who after years of battling away from his loved ones, spends ten years venturing back to Ithaca. A decade that, let’s just say, doesn’t go smoothly.
But who is he doing it all for? Allow Empire to present exclusive looks at the people Odysseus is heading back to. First up, you can see above the very first image of Anne Hathaway – who you’ll remember also starred for Nolan in Interstellar, as well as The Dark Knight Rises – as Penelope, Odysseus’ wife. Behind her is Mia Goth, who we can reveal plays Melantho, one of the maids in the palace who may not be entirely on the up and up.
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And below, Tom Holland, playing Telemachus, son of Odysseus.
You’ll have to wait until summer 2026 to find out whether Odysseus makes it home, and what he finds if he gets there (unless, you know, you decide to read The Odyssey first). But prepare to see many sides to Damon’s battle-hardened hero – a man with tactical smarts, physical endurance, and yes, a family side too. “I think it’s the Emily Wilson translation that begins, ‘Tell me about a complicated man’,” Nolan tells Empire. “The genius of the character, the cleverness, the inventiveness of him, that was a huge part of what interested me. He’s not just a soldier. He’s an amazing strategist, a very wily person.”
Stay tuned to empireonline.com for more The Odyssey exclusives, coming soon.