There was a time when IMAX was a process that was just used for things like nature documentaries or Rolling Stones concert films, and the screen size was seen as more of a gimmick than anything. Those days are far behind us as IMAX is now a key part of any major film release’s distribution plan, though it’s a safe bet that nobody loves it quite like Christopher Nolan.
IMAX has been the way that Nolan himself has recommended that most people watch his movies, as he usually uses IMAX cameras to film as much of his films as possible. Nolan's new movie, The Odyssey, was no exception, as IMAX cameras were the only ones he used to capture the story, and he captured a lot of it.
Speaking with Empire, Nolan reveals that he shot over 2 million feet of IMAX film to capture Matt Damon’s journey as Odysseus. That stat is even more impressive when you realize that a lot of that footage was shot during less-than-favorable conditions. Nolan said…
I’ve been out on [the sea] for the last four months. We got the cast who play the crew of Odysseus’s ship out there on the real waves, in the real places … We really wanted to capture how hard those journeys would have been for people. And the leap of faith that was being made in an unmapped, uncharted world.
Considering that The Odyssey is the first feature film to be shot 100% with IMAX cameras, it stands to reason he would shoot more IMAX film than any movie ever had. IMAX 70MM uses film faster than traditional 35mm film methods. However, 35MM movies could be shot using film measured in tens of thousands of feet, or maybe hundreds of thousands for something really extensive. So The Odyssey really did use a lot of film.
Nolan's last movie, Oppenheimer, required IMAX to 3D print new trays to hold the 70mm film in the theaters that projected it that way. Oppenheimer was the longest IMAX movie shot in 70MM and the previous trays weren’t big enough to hold all the film.
One has to believe that The Odyssey may be on track to break Oppenheimer’s record. While it’s possible the runtime might come in shorter than Oppenheimer’s, if Christopher Nolan shot so much footage, he must have a plan for how he’s going to use it all.
Time will tell if the film trays made for Oppenheimer will be big enough to handle The Odyssey or if new trays will need to be produced once again.
Chrstioher Nolan’s telling of the classic Homeric tale stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, but also includes numerous other stars, including Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, and more.
It will be released on the 2026 movie schedule on July 17, and that's when you'll be able to see all this IMAX footage with your own eyes.
