Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Teaser Leaks Online Amid Theatrical Rollout: Here’s What Happens in the First Footage

The first teaser for Christopher Nolan and Universal’s “The Odyssey,” which is beginning to play exclusively in theaters, has leaked online on X and TikTok.

Like many of Nolan’s previous blockbusters, most recently for best picture winner “Oppenheimer” in 2023, the famed director has released a short teaser more than a year in advance. “The Odyssey” teaser is timed to be included alongside the release of Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth.”

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The footage’s exclusivity to theaters keeps with Nolan’s longstanding prioritization of theatrical exhibition. The director jumped from his decades-long partner Warner Bros. to Universal for “Oppenheimer” after he voiced dismay that his old studio woud be releasing its entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously to HBO Max.

But even before “The Odyssey” teaser could begin to play in the United States leaks began popping up Tuesday afternoon, with many of them getting swiftly taken down under copyright flags. This isn’t the first time a major movie or show has been hit by a leak. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “House of the Dragon” and the final season of “Game of Thrones” all faced early footage leaking online.

Variety has reached out to Universal for comment.

The teaser, which is 70 seconds long, briefly shows Matt Damon’s lead character Odysseus, his son Telemachus (played by Tom Holland) and a mystery character played by Jon Bernthal. It begins with some narration by what sounds like Robert Pattinson, who also plays an unknown character.

“Darkness. Zeus’ laws smashed to pieces. A kingdom without a king since my master died,” he says over shots of a dark blue ocean and waves crashing along the sandy shore. “He knew it was an unwinnable war, and then somehow…somehow he won it.”

There are two shots of what appears to be the famous Trojan Horse — Odysseus’ master plan to sneak Greek soldiers into Troy, massacre the soldiers and sack the city to win the war. The wooden horse’s shadow is stretched across the beach, then the horse itself is seen at a distance half-submerged in water as waves roll in. In Homer’s original epic, Odysseus’s journey home takes ten years after his ship is blown off course and he encounters monsters like the Cyclops, is held captive by the nymph Calypso, and has run-ins with various Greek gods.

The teaser then cuts to a tense conversation between Telemachus and Bernthal’s character, where the latter is explaining that he doesn’t know Odysseus’ whereabouts.

“I know nothing of Odysseus, not since Troy,” Bernthal says as a dark storm rolls in over the water.

“I have to find out what happened to my father. When did you last see him?” Holland replies. He and Bernthal are next to each other with other characters sitting beside them in the background, lit up by dim orange flames.

“Interested in rumor, huh? Gossip. Who has a story about Odysseus, huh?” Bernthal begins shouting to the others near them. “You? You have a story?” There’s a shot of Greek soldiers clad in armor and carrying torches marching through a city street at night.

The white words “One Year From Now” appear on the black screen, teasing the film’s far-off release date.

“Some say he’s rich or some say he’s poor,” he continues as a faraway shot shows a Greek soldier stepping through a cavernous entrance and unsheathing his sword. “A Journey Begins” is shown on screen.

“Some say he perished. Some say he’s imprisoned. What say you?” Bernthal asks over a shot of men walking toward a city at night as a ragged flag waves.

“Imprisoned?” Telemachus asks.

“What kind of prison? Good, old man like that,” Bernthal says. There are a couple more shots of dark waves, and then it’s revealed that Odysseus is stranded in the middle of the ocean on some scraps of wood. “The Odyssey” and “17. 07. 26” flash on screen, ending the teaser.

Like “Oppenheimer,” the cast for “The Odyssey” is sprawling and star-studded. It also includes Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Mia Goth, Corey Hawkins, Cosmo Jarvis and more. The film is currently in production and will be the first large-scale production to be shot entirely with Imax cameras. Like Nolan’s past films, the teaser is expected to be released online later this year.