Footage from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has leaked online, giving audiences their first real look at the film’s IMAX prologue.
The six-minute preview has been playing exclusively before 70mm IMAX screenings, but low-quality clips are now circulating despite the footage not being officially released.
The leaked preview suggests Nolan’s adaptation may be his most expansive film to date.
Trojan Horse Sequence Takes Center Stage
The prologue centers on the Trojan Horse, a story tied to the larger mythology of Odysseus rather than a core event of Homer’s Odyssey.
The footage opens with Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, king of Sparta, asking Tom Holland’s Telemachus if he knows the story of the horse, and whether he’s heard it “from the inside.”
That line leads directly into the reveal of Matt Damon’s Odysseus and his men hiding within the massive wooden horse as it’s dragged into Troy.
Trojan soldiers celebrate while repeatedly stabbing the structure with swords, narrowly missing the Greeks concealed inside.
As night falls, Odysseus makes his move. He lowers himself from the horse, silently killing a guard before chaos erupts.
The sequence escalates into a large-scale battle as Greek soldiers fight desperately to open the city gates while Odysseus and Menelaus hold the line with bows and blades. When the gates finally open, fully armed Greek forces flood into Troy, turning the tide.
Nolan Blends Spectacle With Precision
Even in leaked form, the footage highlights Nolan’s signature cross-cutting between intimate character moments and large-scale action.
The tension of the siege is interwoven with the mechanical precision of Troy’s gate gears slowly turning, a visual motif Nolan leans on heavily throughout the prologue.
Quick flashes near the end hint at the scope of the full film, including brutal combat imagery, shattered marble statues, and a brief glimpse of the Cyclops Polyphemus.
The creature is mostly obscured due to the clip’s quality, but its presence suggests Nolan is leaning into practical effects over heavy CGI.
Ludwig Göransson’s score is also prominently featured in the leaked footage, driving the tension as the battle builds toward full-scale war.
Notably absent from the preview are several major cast members, including Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson, indicating the prologue focuses squarely on Odysseus and the fall of Troy.
Release Info
The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17, 2026. Christopher Nolan directs and produces alongside Emma Thomas for Syncopy.
The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, with Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and Robert Pattinson also part of the ensemble cast.
