It goes without saying that Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey is going to be epic. But just how epic will it be? Well, now we know it’ll be at least slightly less epic than his previous film, Oppenheimer. At least mathematically.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Nolan revealed that because The Odyssey is being shot entirely in IMAX, he’s forced to make sure the film runs under three hours, which was the length of his 2023 film that won Best Picture. “One of the things that’s really important to me is to be showing the film wherever possible on IMAX film, projecting the format, because we shot the entire movie on IMAX film, and the longest we’ve ever been able to get onto the IMAX projector is three hours,” Nolan said. “So we know it’s less than three hours. I can say the film is shorter than Oppenheimer. It’s still an epic, it’s an epic film as the subject matter demands, but it is shorter.”
Many fans, myself included, had been wondering just how long Nolan was going to go with the film, and, well, now we have an idea.
In the same interview, Nolan acknowledged that he realizes tackling such a famous story, filled with iconic characters, brings with it a ton of expectations. Just like another famous story he told, filled with iconic characters: The Dark Knight Saga.
“What I learned from that experience is that what people want from a movie about a beloved story, a beloved set of characters, is they want a strong and sincere interpretation,” Nolan said. “They want to know that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I really tried to make the best film possible.”
“There’s a massive amount of pressure,” Nolan added. “Anyone taking on The Odyssey is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere, and that comes with a huge responsibility.”
Last year, IMAX sold early tickets to select screenings of The Odyssey and sold out almost immediately. General tickets for other formats (and other IMAX showtimes) are not yet on sale, but since it’s almost May, you have to imagine it’s coming soon. So set those alerts. You’re going to be in the theater for a while, come July 17. Just not as long as the last time.
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