Benny Safdie Reteams With Oppenheimer Director Christopher Nolan On The Odyssey

It's a day ending in 'y', so we all know what that means: Christopher Nolan has added another big name to the call sheet for The Odyssey. Yes, just days after learning that The Punisher himself, Jon Bernthal, has boarded Nolan's ambitious adaptation of Homer's Ancient Greek mythic epic, the Oscar winning auteur has dipped back into his rogues gallery for the latest addition to the IMAX-bound movie's increasingly starry line-up. Per THR's reporting, Oppenheimer star and filmmaker in his own right Benny Safdie will have a part to play in Odysseus', er, Odyssean journey.

In case you've somehow not been keeping tabs, Safdie and Bernthal join an ensemble that now includes *deep breath* Tom Holland, Zendaya, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Charlize Theron. It's a veritable who's who of Hollywood's finest, but who will actually play who in Nolan's retelling of the classic poem remains unclear: both Holland and Damon have been given lead billing, but which of them will play Odysseus (if indeed Odysseus is the movie's lead, of course) is anybody's guess for the time being. Safdie's casting does tee up a nice little Good Time reunion with the actor-director's on-screen brother Pattinson though, which feels worthy of acknowledgment.

In terms of what we do know about Nolan's self-penned 13th film, shooting on the movie is expected to get underway in February, with Sicily — and specifically the 'Goat Island' of Favignana, a key location for Odysseus and his party in the original poem — a likely starting place as principal photography begins. We also know that The Odyssey will make use of pioneering, never-seen-before IMAX technology in order to bring Homer's world of Gods and monsters to life, and that it's slated to hit cinemas worldwide on 17 July, 2026. Before then, we can look forward to seeing Benny Safdie's own monumental directorial undertaking, Dwayne Johnson starring MMA biopic The Smashing Machine, crash into cinemas later this year courtesy of A24. Smashing stuff all round, then.