In a move that’s already making waves in the film world, Christopher Nolan is going all in on IMAX for his upcoming mythological epic, ‘The Odyssey’. Yes, the entire film — from gods and monsters to shipwrecks and sirens — will be shot using IMAX ‘film’ cameras.
Not digital. Not partial. We’re talking 100% old-school, large-format IMAX film.
This marks a historic first. While Nolan has long been a champion of the IMAX format — using it for sections of ‘Dunkirk’, ‘Tenet’, and the Oscar-winning ‘Oppenheimer’ — this is the first time a commercial feature will be filmed entirely in IMAX’s massive, analog glory.
But that’s no small feat. The traditional IMAX film cameras are notoriously bulky and noisy. They weren’t exactly for capturing delicate emotional moments or mythical sword fights.
In fact, filmmakers usually avoid shooting entire movies on them because of how unwieldy they are. That’s where Nolan, ever the innovator, pushed the envelope.
According to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, Nolan personally challenged IMAX to upgrade their film cameras — make them lighter, quieter, and better suited for full-scale productions.
“Chris called me up and said, ‘If you can figure out how to solve the problems, we’ll make ‘The Odyssey’ 100 percent in IMAX,’” said IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond during the company’s annual press event in Cannes.
The result? Brand-new IMAX film tech, developed specifically for this project.
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Universal Pictures, which is backing the film, called it “a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand-new IMAX film technology.”
The film will be a sweeping adaptation of Homer’s legendary tale of Odysseus and his long, obstacle-ridden journey home after the fall of Troy.
Expect epic sea voyages, divine interventions, and some seriously cinematic monster encounters — all brought to life on the biggest and boldest screen possible.
This isn’t just a new genre for Nolan, who’s best known for cerebral thrillers and sci-fi blockbusters like ‘Inception’, ‘Interstellar’, and ‘Oppenheimer’. ‘The Odyssey’ will be his first dive into the world of ancient myth — but if anyone can turn a 3,000-year-old poem into an immersive, IMAX-powered spectacle, it’s him.
And here’s the kicker: once Nolan finishes filming ‘The Odyssey’, those cutting-edge IMAX cameras won’t be going back on the shelf. IMAX plans to make them available to other filmmakers, potentially opening the door to a whole new era of large-format cinema.