Universal Pictures has begun promoting Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey very early, and as we first reported on SFFGazette.com, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong'o all look stunning on newly revealed covers for Elle Magazine.
The publication has profiled each of the actresses, sharing new details about their respective characters and the experience they had working with filmmaker Christopher Nolan on his first fantasy epic.
All signs point to The Odyssey being one of the year's biggest movies, and anything with Nolan's name on it feels like an event. He's assembled an incredible cast for his latest blockbuster, with these four lead actresses all set to bring something very different to this retelling of Homer's epic.
While Nyong'o has faced online backlash for being cast as Helen, she dismissed that while talking to the publication. "This is a mythological story," she said, shrugging off the hate. "I’m very supportive of Chris’ intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not."
You can hear more from the cast below.
Zendaya plays Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and that was a real-life quality Nolan appreciated the actress bringing to the set of The Odyssey.
"We would be in the maddest, craziest situations, just all of us fighting the elements, tearing our hair out, all these things going on, and she would sort of parachute in from her other job with this sense of true grace and poise," he said, explaining that he chose her for her "iconic" grace. "I mean, she’s literally playing a goddess; it’s a tall order. She’s a true movie star, but also an incredible actor."
With Euphoria Season 3 currently airing on HBO and Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Dune: Part Three also on the way, 2026 is a busy year for Zendaya, something that isn't lost on the actress.
"It’s going to be a long year, but what’s great is that I’m really proud of everything. I just really love my job," she says. "But I think that after this, I’m going to have to take a little bit of a break. As soon as I take a break, I start to go crazy. And I’m like, 'I need to work.'"
Hathaway takes on the role of Penelope, a woman who spends two decades fending off over 100 suitors while she waits for her husband, Odysseus, to return from war.
"We think about Penelope as a model of patience," she muses. "But I was interested in the raw edge of her. I was interested in the fury, the emotion, and the passion that she would have had to ride for him for those 20 years."
The Odyssey marks Hathaway's third collaboration with Nolan after The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, a privilege she's hugely grateful for. "It doesn’t get old. You become even more awed by it, by how rare it is. To get that experience once is so rare. Twice—what a gift. Three times—I don’t even have words for it. And so I’m very aware of how determined I am to be harmonious with it all."
"If I’m not enjoying it, then really, really what’s wrong with me?" the actress ponders. "If I can’t have a positive outlook on it when I’m having such a fortunate ride, then it would be wasted on me."
There was a lot of speculation surrounding Theron's role in The Odyssey, but it's finally been confirmed that she will bring the sea nymph Calypso to life. A powerful goddess, she keeps Odysseus captive on her island for seven years, but is ultimately unable to make him stay.
Asked if she views Calypso as a tragic figure, a villain, or a woman fixated on a man she can never win the heart of, the Oscar-winner says, "I see her as all of those things and also none of those things. I was given a chance to do something that I haven’t had a ton of opportunity to do, because she’s a little bit of everything."
"That’s what’s so beautiful about her. And a lot of people on their own cast me in this movie, and they cast me very differently. It was a real opportunity that Chris gave me to do something that didn’t feel like typecasting."
"Even though she’s a goddess, she is really longing for connection. And it was interesting to look at somebody with the powers that she has, but who still really couldn’t do that much with them," Theron added.
Nyong'o takes on two roles in The Odyssey as Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, as well as Helen's sister, Clytemnestra. Helen is considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, though her role in Nolan's telling is being kept under wraps.
"I was so deeply honored to be entrusted with the role," Nyong'o teases. "I mean, she is iconic. What more can I say? I mean, I was saying yes even before he told me what role it was."
She added, "I really had no idea what The Odyssey was. I was like, 'Oh, snap, I don’t know the first thing about this.' So it was a crash course. I picked up the books and read them immediately. I have this film to thank for my Greek mythological education."
While there's been some backlash to the Black Panther star being cast as Helen, Nolan knew she was the right choice from the start. "The strength and the poise were so important to the character of Helen. And Lupita makes it look effortless," he enthuses. "She’s just an incredible person to work with, and I was absolutely desperate for her to do the part."
The cast of The Odyssey includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Lupita Nyong'o, Will Yun Lee, Benny Safdie, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Corey Hawkins, Josh Stewart, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, and Logan Marshall-Green.
Shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology, the film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.