One of the prominent visionaries of Hollywood, there is no question that Christopher Nolan releases quality films. His movies are fully immersive experiences, which is why fans go to the theater. His next feature, The Odyssey, promises to be a classic, following his success with his biopic, Oppenheimer. The 2026 adaptation of the epic poem has the chance to go even further than his previous works, in one area in particular.
When looking at his filmography, it isn’t hard to spot the one glaring similarity that connects them. His protagonists are often male, with the tragic death of a romantic partner fueling their journey. His breakout film, Memento, follows the journey of one man who tries to find his wife’s killer. Many of Nolan’s films follow this dead wife plot in Interstellar, Inception, and The Prestige. There is the rare exception, such as the World War II blockbuster, Dunkirk, which has no prominent female leads, and the divisive film Tenet, which does not have a dead wife, but one who is physically abused.
In Oppenheimer, the titular physicist does not have a dead wife, but he does have a dead girlfriend. All of this is to say that Nolan’s films are told from a specifically male perspective, and these characters need a great motivator to go on their journey. This is a common trope, but Nolan can finally move past it in one of the oldest stories put to paper.
Penelope Will Be an Outlier in ‘The Odyssey’
In adapting The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan can’t stray too far from the source material, and this is a blessing as it protects its main characters. Homer’s poem follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the King of Ithaca, and his attempt to make it home following the Trojan War. Gone for a total of 20 years, Odysseus fights to return to his wife, Queen Penelope (Anne Hathaway), who is enduring her own trials. In the poem, Penelope is not a tragic figure, but one who is resilient. She keeps faith that her husband will return, even though it is likely that he died in the war.
The climax of the story revolves around a swarm of suitors trying to convince Penelope to marry again, but her loyalty is unwavering. She announces that she will marry again after she finishes weaving a shawl, but every night, she unweaves it so she will not be compelled to forsake Odysseus. This is starkly different from other epic poems about homecoming. In another story about Ancient Greece, Agamemnon famously returns home after sacrificing his daughter for the war effort, only for his wife, Clytemnestra, to murder him in revenge. Achilles tries to make it home in The Iliad but dies in the process.
The Odyssey stands apart in many ways, including its presentation of women. Penelope not only survives but reunites with her husband as neither of them lost faith that they would be together one day. Penelope shows strength and fortitude in a way that her predecessors were not allowed. The love story is at the center of The Odyssey, but that doesn’t mean it’s without action or bloodshed. There is a reason why it takes Odysseus so long to make it back home, as his journey is filled with obstacles. His trials are well known, and it will be incredibly satisfying to see Nolan’s spin on the story. Penelope’s suitors also aren’t let off easy in what should make an exciting third act. The Odyssey is the exact sort of story that Nolan does best, and this new film will have the bonus of the female characters surviving and thriving in it.
