NEW MOVIES: July 16-22, 2026, “The Odyssey,” “Food Roots,” “American Pachuco: Luis Valdez,” “Horsegirls”

The Odyssey is a 2026 epic fantasy action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. An adaptation of Homer‘s ancient Greek epic The Odyssey, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, and chronicles his long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War, as well as his encounters with mythical beings, as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope, portrayed by Anne Hathaway. The ensemble cast includes Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron. Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas produced the film through their production company, Syncopy.

Nolan began writing The Odyssey in March 2024, secured the project with Universal Pictures by October, and the film was announced in December. Casting occurred from late 2024 through early 2025, and Damon was confirmed for the lead role in February 2025. Nolan studied several translations of the Odyssey. He depicted a realistic interpretation of Greek mythology, drawing inspiration from the epic historical films Andrei Rublev (1966) and Ran (1985), as well as the films of special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. Filming took place from February to August 2025 in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara, and Malta, as well as at the Universal Studios Lot in Los Angeles. With an estimated budget of $250 million, the film is among the most expensive of Nolan’s career and the first to be shot entirely on IMAX‘s 70 mm film cameras. Leading up to the film’s release, the costume and production designs, accents, dialogue, and casting choices sparked critical discussion and scrutiny regarding historical accuracy in the source material and the depicted setting.

The Odyssey premiered on July 6, 2026, at the Empire Leicester Square in London, ahead of a theatrical release by Universal Pictures on July 17 in the United States and the United Kingdom. The film will be available in IMAX and multiple premium large formats.

The Odyssey follows Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, on his long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War, chronicling his encounters with mythical beings such as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the nymph Calypso, while he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope.^[3]

Matt Damon (left) portrays Odysseus (right; one of the Sperlonga sculptures).

• Matt Damon as Odysseus:
  The legendary Greek king of Ithaca.^[4] Director Christopher Nolan described Odysseus as complicated, “an amazing strategist, [and] a very wily person”. He was interested in his cleverness and inventiveness, particularly citing Odysseus’s characterization in the 2017 translation of the Odyssey by British-American classicist Emily Wilson.^[5] To prepare for the role, Damon underwent an extensive training regimen and a strict diet to become “lean but strong”, which included no longer consuming gluten and reducing his weight to 167 pounds (76 kilograms).^[6] He also grew a full beard for a year, after Nolan declined to use artificial facial hair because he wanted to capture “the physicality of real hair”.^[7][6]
• Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus’s son and the prince of Ithaca, who is determined to find his father^[8][9]: 55
• Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, Telemachus’s mother, and the queen of Ithaca, who fends off many suitors in her husband’s absence^[10]
• Robert Pattinson as Antinous, a suitor of Penelope,^[10] whom Pattinson described as sleazy and likened to James Woods‘s character Lester Diamond from the 1995 film Casino^[11]
• Lupita Nyong’o in a dual role as:
  • Helen of Troy, Menelaus’s wife, described as the most beautiful woman in the world, whose abduction triggers the Trojan War^[12]
  • Clytemnestra, Helen’s sister and Agamemnon’s wife, whose marriage is acrimonious^[12]
• Samantha Morton as Circe, a witch and goddess from the island of Aeaea^[12]
• Zendaya as Athena, the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft, who protects Odysseus on his journey^{[9]: 50 [12]}
• Charlize Theron as Calypso, a nymph from the island of Ogygia who tries to keep Odysseus as her immortal husband^[12][13]
• Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, the Greek king of Mycenae, Clytemnestra’s husband, Menelaus’s brother, and the commander of the Achaeans during the Trojan War^[14][12]
• Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, the Greek king of Sparta, Helen’s husband, and Agamemnon’s brother^[9]: 50
• John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, Odysseus’s faithful servant and blind swineherd^{[9]: 55 [15]}
• Bill Irwin as Polyphemus, a Cyclops and son of Poseidon^[12]
• Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, Odysseus’s second-in-command and incompetent brother-in-law^[16][10]
• Will Yun Lee as one of Odysseus’s shipmates^[9]: 59
• Corey Hawkins as Polybus, an Ithacan suitor of Penelope^[17]
• Mia Goth as Melantho, a disloyal maidservant of Odysseus and Penelope^[5][16]
• Logan Marshall-Green as Melanthius, Melantho’s twin brother and Odysseus’s dishonest goatherd^[18][16]
• Jimmy Gonzales as Cepheus, one of Odysseus’s shipmates^[10]
• Andrew Howard as Polites, one of Odysseus’s shipmates^{[19][independent source needed]}
• Travis Scott as a bard, whom Nolan included because he wanted to allude to how the Odyssey had been retold through oral poetry, which he analogized to rapping, Scott’s profession^[12]
• Elliot Page as Sinon, a Greek soldier and Odysseus’s cousin who fought in the Trojan War alongside him^[16][17]
• James Remar as Tiresias, a blind prophet of the Greek underworld^[16]
• Elyes Gabel as Elatus, a warrior^[16]

Additional cast members with undisclosed supporting roles are Jesse Garcia,^[20] Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez,^[21] Nick E. Tarabay, Maurice Compte,^[22] Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg,^[23] Josh Stewart,^[24] Ryan Hurst,^[25] Anthony Molinari,^[26] Jovan Adepo,^[27] Sean Avery,^[28] and Ian Casselberry.^[29]

American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez is a 2026 American documentary film directed by David Alvarado. It chronicles the life and career of Luis Valdez, the playwright and director known as the father of Chicano theater.

The film is narrated by Edward James Olmos, who starred in Valdez’s seminal work, Zoot Suit and the 1981 film adaptation.^[2] It premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and Festival Favorite Award.

The film explores how Luis Valdez transformed the American cultural landscape by bringing Chicano stories from the farm fields of Delano, California, to Broadway and Hollywood. It covers his founding of El Teatro Campesino alongside Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, as well as the creation of his iconic works Zoot Suit and La Bamba.^[1]

The documentary utilizes split-screen visuals and is guided by a “Pachuco narrator” (Edward James Olmos) who provides candid commentary on Valdez’s struggle against political resistance and industry skepticism.^[3]