{"id":77928,"date":"2026-07-06T21:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/77928\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:53:12","slug":"the-odyssey-crowds-gather-for-london-world-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/77928\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Odyssey’: Crowds Gather For London World Premiere"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tUpdated at 1.25 pm PT with red carpet inteviews, Nolan speech\u2026 Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong\u2019o and Charlize Theron hit the red carpet in London\u2019s Leicester Square on Monday evening for the world premiere of Christopher Nolan<\/a>\u2019s The Odyssey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was arguably one of the starriest premieres of 2026 to date with Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie, Travis Scott and Samantha Morton also putting in an appearance.<\/p>\n

\n\tExpectations are running high ahead of its July 17 release for Nolan\u2019s adaptation of Homer\u2019s epic poem starring Damon as iconic warrior Odysseus as he battles to make his way home back to Ithaca after the Trojan war to wife Penelope (Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Holland).<\/p>\n

\n\tThose interviewed by Deadline universally praised Nolan for his director\u2019s vision on the project, and then Damon\u2019s determination in carrying that vision through the arduous three-month shoot across six countries on IMAX cameras from start to finish.<\/p>\n

\n\tAsked by Deadline on how the shoot scored on a scale of one to 10 in terms of its physicality against other action pictures such as the Bourne trilogy, Damon answered: \u201cThis is an 11.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was much harder than anything I\u2019ve done, but harder for everybody, harder for every single department. To shoot all of this on camera. If you see a thousand people on camera, there are really a thousand people. To shoot it on IMAX which has never been done before and all of the technical challenges that accompany that effort. It required hundreds and hundreds of people, working really hard and rowing the same direction,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n

Matt Damon says playing Odysseus in Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 was \u201cmuch harder than anything I\u2019ve ever done\u201d: \u201cThis is an 11 [out of 10]\u201d pic.twitter.com\/DrP3gGZLFa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tHolland told reporters he was still pinching himself about the fact that he had cast by Nolan for the film.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe revealed that the world premiere was such an important day in his career that he had even skipped the England-Mexico world cup match in the early hours of Monday morning, watching it on replay instead.<\/p>\n

Tom Holland says he \u201cdid not get up at 1am\u201d to watch England\u2019s FIFA World Cup match because today\u2019s \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 premiere \u201cis arguably one of the biggest days of my life\u201d pic.twitter.com\/4FJvCID5W4<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tHolland admitted he had never read The Odyssey until being tapped on the shoulder by Nolan for the role of Telemachus but said he had been astonished to discover the contemporary relevance of the near 3,000-year-old story.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI do think it\u2019s very relevant. The idea of Zeus\u2019s Law is something we can all do a better job of. Treating others as you\u2019d be treated. This is very strong theme throughout this film and it\u2019s something we exercised on set and we made a better film for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tZendaya, who plays the goddess and voice of wisdom Athena, said the experience of The Odyssey had given her a greater appreciation of Greek mythology that she would take into future roles. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSo many stories that came after you can trace back to this age old story. I don\u2019t what that means about us as human beings that we continue to make the same mistakes but I think it\u2019s continually relevant,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Zendaya on having a \u201ccultural understanding\u201d of \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 before reading it, her fascination with Greek mythology and playing Athena pic.twitter.com\/LiQeNclCCk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tTravis Scott, who plays the character of the bard in the court of Ithaca as Penelope held near hostage by suitors, also hit the red carpet. It marks the first major big screen role for the rapper and songwriter, who first collaborated with Nolan on Tenet, for which he wrote the track \u2018The Plan\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n\tNolan did not do the press line but took the stage of Leicester Square\u2019s Odeon Luxe to introduce the film.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou\u2019re the first audience in the world to see this film. This is the world premiere so be kind, on beautiful, 70mm film. It\u2019s very special. I grew up watching movies here, coming to Leicester Square, not from the balcony up there you posh people up there but in the stalls\u2026 and really dreaming of making a film one day that would fill this screen so to be here in such glamorous circumstances with all of you celebrating the work of so many people who came together to make The Odyssey is truly incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe also alluded to the England-Mexico World Cup game overnight.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor all you fellow England fans who didn\u2019t sleep much last night try not to snore in the quiet parts. It\u2019s The Odyssey. There are no quiet parts, or very few\u2026 We\u2019re thrilled and excited to see what you make of what we\u2019ve done\u2026 these guys, and so many more people, thousands of people contributed to the making of this film and I challenged everybody I was working with to bring their best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst officially announced at the end of 2024<\/a>, The Odyssey follows hot on the heels of Nolan\u2019s Oscar-winning opus Oppenheimer.<\/p>\n

\n\tPer Deadline\u2019s Anthony D\u2019Alessandro, the picture is eyeing an opening range between $80M-$100M<\/a> when the\u00a0Universal<\/a>\u00a0release hits North American theaters on July 17. Nolan\u2019s 2023 Oscar-winning opus Oppenheimer was predicted a $40M-$50M opening and then achieved an $82.4M start.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tNolan and The Odyssey kicked off a mammoth release campaign in London over the weekend with a first photo call against the backdrop of the city\u2019s iconic skyline. Checkout the images here<\/a>..<\/p>\n