Christopher Nolan has revealed that The Odyssey will be shorter than his previous movie, 2023’s Oppenheimer.
- READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain
The upcoming blockbuster, an adaptation of the epic Greek poem by Homer, sees Matt Damon lead an all-star cast telling the story of Odysseus, and his journey home from the Trojan War.
The film is released July 17th in the UK, and ahead of the film arriving in cinemas the director talked about the scale of the project. “There’s a massive amount of pressure,” Nolan told The Associated Press. “Anyone taking on The Odyssey is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere and that comes with a huge responsibility.”
He compared it to taking on the beloved character of Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy. “What I learned from that experience is that what people want from a movie about a beloved story, a beloved set of characters, is they want a strong and sincere interpretation,” he said. “They want to know that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I really tried to make the best film possible.”
Oppenheimer was three hours long, one of the longest movies ever shot for IMAX. When asked about The Odyssey’s running time, Nolan said it will not surpass its predecessor. “It’s an epic film, as the subject matter demands,” he assured the outlet. “But it is shorter.”
The filmmaker will be hoping to replicate that film’s success, however, as Oppenheimer won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan. With $953.8million (£708.5million) in box office, it is also his most successful film outside of his Batman trilogy.
Last year, Christopher Nolan revealed that he filmed The Odyssey on real-life seas “to capture how hard” Odysseus’ journey would’ve been. “It’s vast and terrifying and wonderful and benevolent, as the conditions shift” he explained.
Footage from the film, including the famous Trojan Horse sequence, was recently previewed at CinemaCon to great acclaim, which those in attendance describing it as “mind-blowing”.