Empire Magazine has unveiled its August 2026 issue dedicated to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, featuring four collectible covers, new behind-the-scenes images, and interviews with the director and cast ahead of the film’s July 17 release.
The issue includes a feature built from two days on set with Nolan, producer Emma Thomas, and stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson, plus a visit to Nolan’s post-production facility. It goes on sale Thursday, July 2.
For the full cast and everything else announced so far, see our complete Odyssey cast breakdown and our full Odyssey movie guide.
Three Collectible Empire Covers for The Odyssey
Empire’s first cover features Matt Damon as Odysseus in full armor with a red-crested helmet, standing on what appears to be a battlefield engulfed in fire and smoke.
The second cover features Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, who holds the fort in Ithaca while her husband tries to find his way home.
The third cover features Tom Holland as Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who goes on his own quest to search for his father.
A fourth subscriber-exclusive cover features an illustrated depiction of Odysseus’s storm-battered ship, created for Empire by artist Paul Shipper.
Nolan Teases the Laestrygonian Battle
In the accompanying interview, Nolan spoke about one of The Odyssey’s biggest action sequences: the encounter with the Laestrygonians, a race of massive giant warriors who attack Odysseus and his crew during their voyage home.
“It was a fun sequence to shoot,” Nolan told Empire. “It’s really a thing of trying to get across the brutality. They’re warriors, and their weapons and armour is of a level of sophistication that Odysseus has never seen.”
According to Empire, the Laestrygonians were brought to life on screen using forced-perspective illusions and wirework, with Odysseus’s men flung around like ragdolls during the fight.
Nolan said the sequence serves a purpose beyond spectacle.
“The point of the Laestrygonians in the story, as in the original poem, is to show in some ways the questionable nature of Odysseus’ leadership. To give his men reason to doubt him,” Nolan said. “And so what they come up against leaves them all shaken.”
A new behind-the-scenes image from Empire shows Nolan on set directing Damon, who appears to be in costume for the sequence, wearing battle armor and the same red-crested helmet seen on the Empire cover. An IMAX camera is visible in the shot.
The subscriber cover depicts the Laestrygonian encounter, showing Damon’s Odysseus facing a line of towering armored giants in a snowy forest.
In Homer’s Odyssey, the Laestrygonians are one of the deadliest threats Odysseus faces. The giants destroy all but one of his ships and devour many of his crew, leaving Odysseus with a single vessel for the rest of his journey. It is one of the most devastating losses in the entire epic.
Anne Hathaway Says Penelope Is a “Ride-or-Die Partner”
In a separate Empire exclusive, Anne Hathaway spoke about her approach to playing Penelope, one of the most famous figures in Greek mythology.
Penelope is traditionally portrayed as the faithful wife who waits twenty years for Odysseus to return. Hathaway said she wanted to push past that reading.
“There’s a way to think about her that she is just kind of passively, quietly waiting,” Hathaway told Empire. “But I didn’t see her like that. I saw her as this incredible, active, ride-or-die partner.”
“I wanted her to have a sense of danger to her. That she’s not doing this out of a sense of duty — she genuinely loves [Odysseus] with her whole fiery soul.”
Hathaway also discussed one of Penelope’s most famous moments from Homer’s poem: the loom. In the original story, Penelope tells the suitors she will choose a new husband once she finishes weaving a burial shroud, but she secretly unpicks her work each night to buy more time.
“I’m not known for my craft work,” Hathaway laughed when discussing the weaving scenes.
This is Hathaway’s third film with Nolan, following The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.
The Odyssey Press Tour Is Ramping Up
The Empire feature is the latest sign that The Odyssey’s marketing campaign is accelerating ahead of its July 17 release. The magazine had “unbeatable access” to the production, including two days on set across multiple international locations and time with Nolan in post-production.
Empire’s issue also promises interviews with Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson, with additional details expected to roll out in the coming days.
The Odyssey has already been at the center of a casting backlash and a Greek community open letter criticizing the lack of Greek representation in the confirmed principal cast.
About The Odyssey
The Odyssey is written and directed by Christopher Nolan and is based on Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem. The film was shot using brand new IMAX film technology across locations in Morocco, Italy, Greece, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.
The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Zendaya as Athena, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Charlize Theron as Calypso, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, and Samantha Morton as Circe, among over 30 confirmed actors.
The Odyssey opens in theaters and IMAX everywhere on July 17, 2026, from Universal Pictures.
