Despite Christopher Nolan‘s ability to work in multiple genres and keep a foot in both the worlds of summer blockbusters and period dramas, his films all tend to follow a similar marketing strategy. It begins with a covert pre-production process in which news of the British director’s next project is the most closely guarded secret in Hollywood. Then there’s the buzzy announcement that takes the film world by storm, a slow drip of casting updates, and some early cryptic marketing materials that capitalize on the fact that everyone already knows about the movie.
Then, as we get closer to the mid-July release date that has become synonymous with Nolan, we start to see some real footage.
We’re now firmly in that final stage of marketing, as Universal is promoting Nolan’s “The Odyssey” everywhere from CinemaCon to the NBA playoffs. And, on Monday night, a new trailer was revealed during “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that gave us our clearest look yet at Nolan’s take on Homer’s foundational Greek epic.
The new footage clearly lays out the premise of “The Odyssey”: Matt Damon’s Odysseus is stranded on an island after the Trojan War, but he cannot shake memories of his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and a son Telemachus (Tom Holland) at home. As he embarks on a precarious journey to return to them, his house is filled with suitors, led by Robert Pattinson’s Antinous, who have their own plans to marry Penelope, even as she insists that her husband is returning.
Much of the draw of the film lies in Nolan and his top tier crew (including cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and composer Ludwig Göransson) bringing the epic scenes from Homer’s poem to life. The trailer features more than enough battles, armor, castles, and European scenery to satiate anyone who is counting down the days until they can see the film in IMAX 70mm.
“The Odyssey” also stars Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie, Charlize Theron, Jovan Adepo, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Travis Scott, and Elliot Page.
Universal will release “The Odyssey” exclusively in theaters on Friday, July 17. Watch the new trailer below.
