Nolan on 'The Odyssey': protecting movie magic, Matt Damon stars as Odysseus

Speaking at 'The Odyssey's Indian premiere in Mumbai, Christopher Nolan reflects on finding destiny in Homer's immortal epic, adapting a foundational classic, the mysteries of cultural permanence, and remaining faithful to the moviegoer who first fell in love with cinema.

Published: July 15, 2026 01:54 pm IST By Ayaan Paul Chowdhury

As if finding yourself in the same room as one of the most venerated filmmakers of the 21st Century was not daunting enough, no amount of mental preparation could brace you for how mesmerising Christopher Nolan's steely blue eyes are up close.

Once I finally snapped free from the spell of that impossible blue, it took considerable effort to steady my nerves and fully process that I was sitting across from a childhood idol. My mind raced through a catalogue of wide-eyed cinematic wonder—every memory of witnessing his brand of movie magic on the biggest screen possible rushing back as though I were Cooper stumbling through the Tesseract itself.

But whatever improbable wrinkle in the space-time continuum finally indulged my early cinephilic fantasies—call it fate or qismat—the acclaimed British-American filmmaker too seems to be wrestling with a similar sense of destiny through his long-awaited adaptation of Homer's immortal homecoming epic, The Odyssey.

The follow-up to his 2023 Best Picture winner Oppenheimer sees frequent collaborator Matt Damon stepping into the sandals of the battle-scarred Odysseus as he struggles to return home after the Trojan War. He is supported by a formidable ensemble including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Himesh Patel, and several of contemporary Hollywood's most recognisable faces.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker was in Mumbai for his first-ever film premiere in India, along with Damon, Holland, and producer Emma Thomas, drawing droves of fans across the city during the Indian leg of the film's global promotional tour last weekend.

Ahead of The Odyssey's worldwide theatrical release this Friday, we discussed the formative influences that shaped his latest film, why the story felt like a culmination of his filmmaking journey, and how he continues to protect that first spark of cinephilic wonder while carrying the expectations of millions who now look to his work for that very same feeling.

Excerpts from the Interview

*Q: Welcome back to Mumbai. It's been a minute since Tenet. Has your time here in the city so far brought back any memories from your last visit?*

Christopher Nolan: Oh, very much. Just driving into the hotel from the airport, seeing some of the locations we shot at... the city's changed a lot, but there's so much that's familiar. It's such an amazing, vibrant place. It's wonderful to be back here.

*Q: The Odyssey is perhaps the most epic homecoming story ever told, and after finally getting to watch it yesterday, I was struck by...*