Myth and memory fuel the timeless voyage of an epic poem now drifting all over the globe, holding the visionary hands of Christopher Nolan in his upcoming project, The Odyssey. Homer’s foundational contribution to Greek literature gets an IMAX makeover with legendary ocean-bound film sets and surreal locations that almost feel like a portal to a fantasy world. 

Monsters, ships caught in storms, and the typical large-scale production aside, Nolan's filming locations appear to be a pilgrimage to the art of cinema.

Christopher Nolan has reportedly filmed The Odyssey in a variety of eye-catching and historically significant places in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Malta, and Western Sahara. Iceland and its freezing beaches would likely represent the underworld in the epic fantasy movie, as Troy was reimagined in Moroccan cities such as Ouarzazate, Essaouira, and Marrakesh. In July, Matt Damon and Zendaya reportedly filmed for four days at the White Dune near Dakhla, Western Sahara. Greece hosted all major scenes, and Nestor’s Cave in the Peloponnese region stood in for the shores inhabited by Cyclops Polyphemus. 

The shooting moved to Sicily as the water-borne part of filming took place across the Aeolian Islands. Circe's magic was captured in Scottish locations like Culbin Forest and Findlater Castle in Moray. In between, Nolan also returned to remote Icelandic regions like Landeyjahöfn, Hjörleifshöfði, Markarfljót, and Snæfellsnes. Nolan also set sail on the ocean for months and utilized more than two million feet of IMAX 70 mm film stock to capture the unprocessed, adventurous, and raw intensity that would do justice to the legendary homeward journey of the Greek king of Ithaca in Homer's epic.

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Odysseus, thrown off his course, only to travel across the myths and legends, brought to life by Nolan, finds his geographical roots in Homer. 

Hollywood's contested space of literary adaptations is set to welcome Christopher Nolan's new narrative, but it is still under wraps. However, a map of the myth and Odysseus' epic journey inevitably connects Homer's ancient world to Nolan's modern tapestry. In the epic, Odysseus not only travels to Aeolia, the land of winds, but also meets the Cyclops in a cave and raids Ismaros, and gets high in the Land of the Lotus-Eaters, which scholars associate with Tunisia. In Telepylos, Odysseus and his crew almost get annihilated by giant cannibals. 

Odysseus then earns some semblance of peace in the lush green Scotland-like charm of Aeaea, Circe's island. Chaos never seems to end for the Greek hero as he lands himself in trouble with Calypso in the Malta-esque mythical land, Ogygia, until the gods intervene. Odysseus' voyage takes him to several mythical places before his final stop in Ithaca, his homeland. Christopher Nolan’s mesmerizing filming locations aim to visualize Homer’s geography with Matt Damon as the lead, supported by Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong’o, among the entire galaxy of Hollywood A-listers. 

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