John Leguizamo speaks to Christopher Nolan’s style working on The Odyssey. Set for release in 2026, Nolan’s next film will be an adaptation of the classic Homer epic of the same name. Matt Damon has been announced to play the lead role of Odysseus, with Holland playing him and Penelope’s son, Telemachus. Leguizamo is another cast member in the film, with the movie’s packed and star-studded cast also including Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Cosmo Jarvis, Elliot Page, Lupita Nyong’o, Benny Safdie, and Samantha Morton.
Speaking with MSNBC, Leguizamo teases Nolan’s directorial style on The Odyssey. According to the actor, the director is running the set “like an indie film” in that he is “not doing it by committee” nor just following a conventional studio film format. Money-wise, The Odyssey is not like an indie film at all, as Leguizamo admits the movie has a “crazy budget.” Check out the full quote from Leguizamo below:
“Dude, you know the thing is, okay, he’s got a crazy budget. It’s not small, but he runs [it] like an indie film because he’s not doing it by committee, he’s not doing it by what the studio. He’s like an indie filmmaker but with crazy money.”
What This Means For Christopher Nolan
Nolan Is Known For Big Budgets
To make a production whose costumes and sets match the vast scale of The Odyssey, it makes sense that Nolan would have a massive budget. In fact, the auteur’s last few films have cost a pretty penny, with his Best Picture winner estimated at a $100 million budget and his 2020 sci-fi thriller Tenet even higher, coming in around $205 million. Early reports have said that the Homer adaptation will go even bigger, with a potential budget of around $250 million.
On some similarly priced Hollywood films, in the MCU and beyond, the process could tend to be pretty formulaic and see directors less hands-on than they might be on a smaller film. Leguizamo’s The Odyssey quote, however, proves that this is far from the case when it comes to Nolan’s film. The filmmaker has his original roots in smaller-scale indie filmmaking through making Memento, so it makes sense that he would hold his work so dear, and make sure to be fully involved. How this style will impact The Odyssey remains to be seen.
Our Take On Nolan’s Directing For The Odyssey
Nolan Thinks Big
Leguizamo’s quote is a good reminder of how Nolan stands out from other major working blockbuster directors. His films tend to be high-grossing, but they never lack creativity or ambition. Whether it be talking about real scientists in Oppenheimer or crafting a time travel narrative in Tenet, Nolan thinks on a large scale while still having a clear artistic vision in mind. This dual focus is what makes his work interesting overall, and it sounds like The Odyssey is no exception.
Source: MSNBC
The Odyssey
- Release Date
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July 17, 2026