I fully realize that it’s pretty silly to be comparing a movie like The Odyssey, which we’ve only seen bits and pieces of in trailers, to one of the best films of all time, Lawrence of Arabia. Of all the films on the 2026 movie schedule, however, Christopher Nolan’s epic, based on Homer’s ancient poem, now has me the most excited. It has me hoping that it will be as good as some of the best films, the likes of which Hollywood rarely makes these days, the huge epics like the ones directed by David Lean. I have good reason for these somewhat unreasonable expectations.
It’s Matt Damon’s Fault That I’m Thinking About This
I’ve been excited for The Odyssey since it was revealed that it would be Nolan’s next film. However, in a recent story from Time, Matt Damon, who stars as Odysseus in the upcoming film, says something that has my expectations at a fever pitch. He compared working on it to a movie from a long-gone era of Hollywood. Damon told the magazine:
Movies like this are not getting made anymore. To do this without a green screen, the way that David Lean would have done it, I don’t know anybody, with the exception of Chris, that’s even trying to do that.
Now, I love Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai, so any comparison to David Lean, who directed both, is going to get my attention. Add in what I’ve learned about the upcoming The Odyssey, like how Nolan really tried to use as little CGI as possible, opting instead for huge set pieces, old-fashioned camera tricks, and practical effects, and I’m really hoping that the movie feels like one of those old epics from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Hollywood Doesn’t Make Epics Like This Anymore
Movies like The Odyssey are a very rare exception to the way Hollywood makes movies today. The biggest box office hits are (in large part) movies that rely heavily on CGI and are usually filmed as much in front of a green screen as in an actual location or on a traditional set. The Odyssey is different. From the sound of it, everything about the production was grand, in the tradition of directors like Lean or John Ford. In that way, it has more in common with a film like Ben-Hur than it does with an Avengers movie.
I don’t hate that movies rely on modern technology, and I’m not throwing shade on the best MCU movies or anything like that. In a perfect world, there is room for both movies like Avengers: Doomsday and The Odyssey, as we’re seeing this year. We just don’t get many (or, really, any) movies like Nolan’s ambitious project anymore. They are going the way of the Dodo.
That is both understandable, as there are not many directors – or movie studios – who would take this kind of risk, and lamentable, because when movies like this succeed, they can live forever in our consciousness, as Lawrence of Arabia does. Here’s hoping The Odyssey is the last one of this kind.
