Matt Damon Says The Odyssey Is 'Definitely The Biggest' Film He's 'Ever Done'

If you weren’t already hyped for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey, you definitely will be when you listen to the cast talking about how epic it is.

With not long left to go until the much-hyped film hits cinemas, Nolan’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer is already one of the most talked-about new releases of 2026.

The film adapts Homer’s epic Greek poem and follows the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, on his 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. On his mammoth journey, he encounters mythical monsters and violent enemies, using his wit to defeat suitors plotting to take his thrones.
In a new video featurette to promote the film, Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, hyped up the scale of the mythological epic. 

“This is definitely the biggest movie I’ve ever done in my career, in terms of its scale,” the actor, who also appeared in Oppenheimer, teased, before adding: “[It’s] definitely the biggest movie I have done in terms of its ambition.”

Zendaya, who plays Athena, also praised Nolan’s ability to “do scope and action and fantasy, but also heart and humanity and depth and rawness”.

Her co-star, and real-life husband, Tom Holland, who plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus, also explained how it felt that this was Nolan’s best work to date. 

“I feel like this particular picture is an accumulation of all of his skills and all of his experiences and him at his best, going for it,” he enthused.

Last month, in GQ, Matt reflected on how Hollywood films as epic and ambitious as The Odyssey are now becoming an anomaly.

“Because of where the movie business is going, it was a really weird movie for me personally, in the sense that I had almost a nostalgic feeling the entire time I was making it, because it felt like movies were when I started working,” he explained.

Matt added: “And I know that that’s going away. I knew that this was the last chance I was ever going to have to do something like this.”

The Odyssey filmed on location, with the shoot taking the cast and crew to seven countries in total.

“Every single location on this movie would’ve been the hardest location on any other movie I’ve ever done,” Matt told GQ. “And they just went back-to-back.”

The Odyssey is set to hit cinemas on 17 July.