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“The Odyssey” has begun its grand voyage.
Christopher Nolan’s major adaptation of Homer’s nearly 3,000 year-old Greek poem and arguably history’s most famous epic splashed down in London on Monday for its world premiere,
the official launch of what many expect to become among the hottest releases of the summer (something that, given the $250 million price-tag, Universal is no doubt hoping for too).
In terms of stars, the first pit stop of “The Odyssey” global tour was among the punchiest seen in Leicester Square for some time, with a near full ensemble of cast showing up under the baking hot sun (a giant wooden horse, much like the one in movie, that had been brought along and assembled for the occasion, sadly didn’t provide quite enough shadow cover).
Alongside Nolan and his producer Emma Thomas, plus Universal’s top brass — including NBCUniversal Entertainment chair Donna Langley — the lineup on the (sea-themed blue) carpet almost rivalled the guest-list at Taylor Swift’s weekend nuptials, led by Matt Damon as Trojan War hero Odysseus, plus Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, John Leguizamo, Benny Safdie, Himesh Patel, Samantha Morton, Elliot Page, Travis Scott, Mia Goth and Corey Hawkins.
“It felt like it felt like six or seven movies in one,” Damon told Variety on the red carpet. “Because it kind of was. Each location was incredibly challenging, but each location was challenging in a different way. And I said to Emma [Thomas], actually, like a month in, I said, ‘Thank God, I’m not producing.’”
Damon told Variety he felt a “wave of gratitude that hasn’t really gone away” when Nolan asked him to portray the famed warrior on screen.
He added of the role: “This is at the very top, because just the technical challenges to do this at this scale were beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
The film also represents an opportunity to see Hollywood super-couple Zendaya and Tom Holland on screen, right before the duo appear in the latest Spider-Man outing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” The “Euphoria” actor said she felt emotional watching her other half on set: “I was just moved by his performance. He’s incredible in this as he is in everything, and I’m just excited for people to see such a duality in one month back to back.”
Holland, meanwhile, told Variety: “I cannot put into words how I feel right now, and I think for the both of us this is a new experience.”
He added: “I feel like the last time I might get the chance to play a boy.”
Charlize Theron said Nolan was one of the few directors “brave enough to take on a story like this” while John Leguizamo added: “I felt like this was his magnum opus.”
Rapper Travis Scott was also bowled over by Nolan, saying it felt like “getting a call from one of your favourite superheroes” when the iconic director asked him to join the cast.
Following the huge success of Nolan’s previous film “Oppenheimer,” which grossed more than $976 million worldwide and was the most successful biopic until recently being beating by “Michael,” there are expectations that “The Odyssey” will follow suit with an equally impressive box office. Record-breaking premium large format pre-sales — some of which were release a full year ahead of time in the summer of 2025 — would suggest solid anticipation over the movie, which is the first to be shot entirely on IMAX’s 70mm cameras.
Given the scale of the cast and the clamour of requests for tickets, Universal held another screening elsewhere in London.
Despite the waves of praise for the director, he made a quip about the film potentially sending people who’d stayed up late to watch the England vs Mexico World Cup game (which screened in the middle of the night local time) to sleep, urging them to “not snore through the quiet bits of the film.”
“The Odyssey” will release on July 17.
