Christopher Nolan did not make it to CinemaCon this year — the Oscar-winning auteur is deep in production on his upcoming epic The Odyssey — but his name did come up on the main stage.
During Universal Pictures’ presentation inside the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the studio’s president of domestic theatrical distribution, Jim Orr, took the stage and praised Nolan’s “visionary take” on the story. “We know this film will be a once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would be very proud of,” he said.
The film is being described by Universal as a “mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new Imax film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to Imax film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.”
Orr also took a moment to single out how Nolan “assembled a staggering all-star cast.” Indeed it is. The Universal feature is packed with stars like Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, Benny Safdie, Cosmo Jarvis and Ryan Hurst, among others.
Homer’s poem tells of the Greek hero King Odysseus, being played by Damon in Nolan’s telling, and his tortuous, 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. It is a journey filled with interruptions and influence from the gods (not to mention a few cyclopes). The story also involves Odysseus’ wife and grown son, who must contend with aggressive suitors who have designs on the throne.
The film is Nolan’s follow-up to his blockbuster best picture winner Oppenheimer for Universal.
CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema owners and Hollywood studios, is hosted in Las Vegas by the newly rebranded Cinema United, which for decades was known as the National Association of Theatre Owners. This year’s edition runs from March 31 to April 3.