Christopher Nolanloves to cast actors he’s previously worked with on his new projects. The trend will continue forThe Odyssey,as Benny Safdie is the latest actor to join the cast.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter, Safdie joins the all-star cast ofThe Odyssey, which includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal. No character details have been revealed.
Safdie played Edward Teller in Nolan’s Oscar-winning drama,Oppenheimer. Safdie recently completed filming his role onHappy Gilmore 2. Safdie’s solo directorial debut,The Smashing Machine, will be released later this year by A24. The sports biopic stars Dwayne Johnson as former MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
After much speculation,Universal Picturesannounced last month that Nolan’s next movie will be an adaptation ofThe Odyssey, based on the ancient Greek poem by Homer. Not to be confused with Homer’s other poem,The Iliad, The Odysseydepicts Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his treacherous journey home after the Trojan War. The epic poem is one of the seminal works in Greek mythology, as Odysseus encounters iconic creatures such as sirens, centaurs, and the Cyclops Polyphemus.
Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on August 24, 2025.
— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics)July 24, 2025
The Odysseyis slated to begin filming in late February. PerVariety, Nolan plans to shoot off the coast of Sicily on the island of Favignana, known as “goat island,” the likely place where Homer pictured Odysseus landing in the story. Sicily’s Eolian Islands are rumored to be another location where Nolan will film. Nolan will utilize new IMAX technology throughout the shoot.
The Odysseyreportedly has a budget of $250 million,the most expensive movie of Nolan’s career.
