Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey draws inspiration from his experience with The Dark Knight. In an exclusive interview, the director shared insights on how he approached his upcoming film, leveraging prior filmmaking experiences.
How did The Dark Knight influence The Odyssey?
Nolan is recognized for pushing boundaries to create realistic films, and his experience shooting sequences in The Dark Knight contributed significantly by utilizing an IMAX camera for the entire movie. With The Odyssey, he has achieved another milestone.
In an interview with Collider, Nolan discussed the changes he encountered in the editing structure when using IMAX. He stated, “It’s been an evolution. When we first started shooting IMAX, we were the first filmmakers to do it for a dramatic theatrical feature. We did it on The Dark Knight. It’s something I’d wanted to do since I was a kid, and we were given a rule book this thick of all the things you can and can’t do. What we learned, really, over time is that actually you can. It’s more versatile in that you can use the IMAX frame in a way that’s more analogous to regular filmmaking.”
Additionally, the director mentioned how he modified the camera lenses to capture sequences in The Dark Knight. He noted that as they gained more experience with the format, they had to be more cautious with scene framing, which had to be “relatively centered” to accommodate different theater screen aspect ratios.
To enhance immersion during action scenes while mixing frames with IMAX, they utilized the larger frame area for peripheral vision by “moving the camera closer and further away, rather than zooming in or looking at things in two-dimensional terms.”
However, regarding The Odyssey, he emphasized that “we’re making sure that in every theater that it goes to, it’s playing on the largest screen possible.” His upcoming film was shot using a customized IMAX camera requested by the production team, which included modifications to reduce the loud noise typically associated with the camera.
The Odyssey, featuring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’O, Zendaya, Elliot Page, and others, is set to premiere in theaters on July 17, 2026.
