As part of the promotional material for new release The Odyssey (and all of its many, many formats), Universal Pictures has been taking us inside some of the filming locations the actors and crew dove into to make the movie work fully on IMAX. From 45 minute walks in full costume from base camp, to entirely novel filming locations, the 2026 movie release is epic in scale, but it was one quiet moment that actually stood out to me while watching.
In one particular scene, Matt Damon's character is looking out from the boat onto the ocean, and a pod of dolphins jumps out of the water. Given we know the movie was filmed with minimal CGI, I actually had the thought while watching, “I wonder if this was just fortuitous timing?” Turns out, it was. It also turns out they had the IMAX camera on hand to record it. Take a look.
Now, while The Odyssey team did take a (historically inaccurate Viking-looking) boat out onto the open ocean, we’ve known some of the oceanic footage was shot in a tank. There was some “close up raft stuff,” per what Damon told People and other outlets that just couldn’t have been accomplished safely out in the real water.
However, a lot of the footage we do see in the movie was realistically shot, and the majority of the movie was accomplished with practical effects rather than CGI. The dolphins are no exception. Here’s what happened:
We’re doing a close-up. Matt is looking over where the ship is sailing to, and a dolphin jumps right through frame. I mean, c’mon. I’ll tell you where that would not happen. On the tank. Luckily we had this great big IMAX camera and we recorded it.
I don’t think there’s any question: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a feast for the eyes. The three-hour runtime flies by, and there are so many cool and memorable scenes to look back on, you’d be forgiven if one moment that stood out to me did not stand out to you. There was a Cyclops, a field of dead men, a men-turning-into-pigs scene straight out of a horror film, and one incredible-looking oceanic whirlpool that was also reportedly built to look as realistic as possible.
Amidst that, we saw quieter moments on the ocean, one of which was a completely happy accident. It’s not the first time accidental filming has informed a movie, but it’s certainly one that’s noticeable on the big screen.
