The latest star winning hearts as Telemachus, Tom Holland, has added a sweet twist to The Odyssey hype by revealing how he secretly told Zendaya that Christopher Nolan wanted her to play Athena. While Nolan’s Greek epic has barely sailed past its trailer backlash, rave first reactions have completely changed the wind in its favor. With Holland, Robert Pattinson, and the star-packed ensemble earning major praise, anticipation for Nolan’s massive IMAX spectacle has only climbed higher.

And while the praise keeps dominating headlines, Holland has left fans laughing over the sneaky way he delivered the big news to Zendaya, and here is exactly what the actor revealed.

Revealing the story during a recent special interview with Access Hollywood, Tom Holland recalled Christopher Nolan cautiously asking whether he would mind if Zendaya played Athena, a question that first had the actor fearing Nolan might ask him to wear lifts to appear taller. Holland immediately loved the casting idea and even volunteered to break the news himself, but he refused to make it easy. When Zendaya later asked about the meeting, Holland simply told her to reread the script and pay very close attention to Athena, watching as confusion slowly gave way to a smile when she finally understood the hint.

And then I went home and she asked me about the meeting and I just said to her, I said, “You should read the script again.” And she was like, “Well, I read it.” I said, “No, no, no. Just trust me. Like, you should read it again.” And she was like, “What are you talking about?” I said, “Just read it again, but read Athena like really closely.” And the little corners of her mouth," Holland told Access Hollywood. 

However, Robert Pattinson also joined Holland for the interview, with the actor playing the manipulative Antinous, a performance already earning major praise from early reactions. Holland, meanwhile, plays Telemachus, the son of Matt Damon’s Odysseus, while Zendaya steps into the mythological world as Athena and Anne Hathaway stars as Penelope. The already massive ensemble grows even bigger with Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, and Mia Goth rounding out Nolan’s ridiculously stacked Greek epic.

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And while Tom Holland turned one casting secret into a rather adorable guessing game, The Odyssey itself is done playing around, with its theatrical arrival now just days away.

The Odyssey officially pulled back the curtain with its main trailer on May 4, 2026, before Universal Pictures cranked up the hype with a final countdown trailer on July 1. Now, with the promotional voyage almost at the shore, Christopher Nolan’s Greek epic is ready to storm theaters on July 17, 2026. Shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the colossal spectacle clearly demanding the biggest screen audiences can find.

Based on Homer’s legendary epic, The Odyssey follows Odysseus after the Trojan War as he begins a decade-long nightmare of a journey back to Ithaca, where Penelope and Telemachus await his return. But Nolan hardly gives his hero a peaceful boat ride home, as the voyage throws Odysseus into a mythological minefield of gods, monsters, the Cyclops, Sirens, Circe, and other deadly obstacles.

And thus, Tom Holland’s latest revelation about Zendaya’s Athena casting has given The Odyssey hype a sweet behind-the-scenes twist, proving that even Christopher Nolan’s secrets are not safe from a little Holland mischief.

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What do you think of the sneaky way Tom Holland revealed Zendaya’s Athena casting in The Odyssey? Let us know in the comments.