The Odyssey's Most Memorable Scene Proves Christopher Nolan Needs To Break A 20-Year Trend Next

Published Aug 8, 2026, 10:40 AM EDT ​​August is a freelance film writer. She studied journalism and cinema at American University. She is a member of the journalism honor society, Kappa Tau Alpha. August has written for various networks and publications, including PBS, Gargoyle Magazine, TheThings, and Identity Theory Magazine. Before returning to entertainment writing, August worked in the Automotive section of U.S. News & World Report. In her free time, August enjoys watching movies in theaters, watching movies at home, listening to podcasts about movies, reading books about movies, watching video essays on movies, talking about movies, thinking about movies, and doing crosswords. Christopher Nolan just delivered his most epic feature yet. The director has spent his storied career pushing cinematic limits with increasingly grand films. The Odyssey may be the magnum opus for this master of epics. Twenty years in the making, this large-scale production was filmed across six countries on a reported budget of at least $250 million. This nearly three-hour adaptation of an ancient Greek poem has become "The" cinematic experience of 2026. Three weeks after its release, The Odyssey has grossed over $930 million at the worldwide box office, seemingly on its way toward $1 billion. Audiences are arriving to theaters in droves to witness the spectacle. Homer’s mythic action comes to life in theaters through IMAX 70mm film and sound design that will vibrate through your bones. The film is a collage of genres; at once a fantasy, a war epic, an adventure-action, a drama, a romance, and a horror. While the high-action spectacle of The Odyssey is certainly impressive, its quieter moments are among the most arresting. Nolan’s directorial prowess shines in the intimate romance and scaled-back horror sequences of The Odyssey. One low-cost horror scene in particular stands out as the most viscerally terrifying piece of this sweeping epic. The effectiveness of this moment alone suggests the director should break from high-scale epics to try his hand at horror. The Odyssey's Circe Scene Proves Christopher Nolan Should Make A Horror Movie Before Universal Pictures fully released The Odyssey, early screenings revealed that the film included the first straight horror sequences of Nolan’s career. There are several moments of horror in the epic, including the cyclops scenes. However, the sequence in which Circe (Samantha Morton) transforms Odysseus’ soldiers into pigs is among the most memorable. General audiences and critics alike have lauded this moment as the embodiment of body horror. Morton softly hums and gently shapes the men's faces into pig snouts as if working clay. She massages their skin and reaches her arm deep into their throats, yanking their tungs. Speaking on The Empire Film Podcast, Nolan described horror as “the most visceral” genre. “Where the direct response to the audience is the most important,” Nolan continued. “That is to say, you’re trying to make people literally feel something in their bones about what’s going on on-screen.” By his own metric, The Odyssey’s Circe scene proves Nolan's horror prowess. Among the rip-roaring action, this scaled-back moment is the most viscerally affecting. It sends a shiver down your spine, turns your stomach, and sticks in your brain. More impressively, the magical scene was achieved entirely practically, without CGI. Moldable models, prosthetics, clever camera angles, and Morton’s powerful performance brought the transformation to life on screen. Anyone with the right team and budget could generate CGI monsters, though the effect would be more fantastical than horrifying. It takes a true horror master to spark dread using inventive practical effects, clever camera angles, and deft scene-setting. The Odyssey’s Circe sequence has intensified the already persistent calls for Nolan to foray into horror filmmaking. A Christopher Nolan Horror Movie Could Break A Career Trend MovieStillsDB Nolan is known for high-budget productions. The Odyssey cost at least $250 million to produce, tying with The Dark Knight Rises (2012) for his most expensive project yet. The director has not made a movie for less than $100 million since The Prestige in 2006. Conversely, horror is generally a low-budget genre, making it a common entry point for new directors. First-time feature director Curry Barker, for example, made the hit horror Obsession on a sub-$1 million budget. With a few exceptions, horror movie budgets generally stay well below the $100 million mark—typically landing between $25 and $50 million. This low cost is due to the nature of the genre. Cinema geniuses such as Halloween director John Carpenter have proven that human imagination is much scarier than any actualized monster. That is to say, a shift of shadows in the background is more likely to send a shiver down your spine than in-your-face (and expensive) CGI monsters. If Nolan were to direct a horror film, it would likely be his lowest-budget production in at least 10 years. The director has proven his ability to produce grand epics. It would be undeniably intriguing to see a scaled-back version of Nolan, directing on a $50 or so million budget. The quiet terror of The Odyssey’s Circe scene suggests that he is more than up for the challenge. What Christopher Nolan Has Said About Making A Horror Movie Everett Collection Audiences have been goading Nolan into horror filmmaking for years. During a July 20 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan noted that eager audiences can now watch The Odyssey to see him direct horror sequences. “They don’t need to beg me to tell a horror story anymore,” Nolan joked. “Just buy a ticket.” After pulling off his first full horror sequences in The Odyssey, the auteur may be more willing than ever to jump into the genre. Nolan admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that his latest epic had whetted his appetite for horror filmmaking. However, he is not going to be jumping into such a production without the perfect story. “But I’ve always believed that horror as a genre has to be approached very carefully from a conceptual point of view," Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter. “In other words, you have to have an amazing idea.” Speaking on The Empire Film Podcast, Nolan admitted that he has yet to click with a potential horror movie concept. However, he has said that he is always looking for the perfect idea. With multi-year gaps between most Nolan productions, there is still plenty of time for the director to discover a concept that gets his horror wheels turning. What Else Nolan's Next Movie Could Actually Be Nolan has given little insight into what his next project may be, but has provided a rough timeline. Unfortunately, it will be at least three years until the phrase “Directed by Christopher Nolan” is back on the big screen. During a July 17 interview with TODAY, the auteur was asked if audiences should expect another three-year wait before his next production. To this, Nolan replied, “Oh, at least.” This means 2029 is the soonest audiences can expect another Nolan feature. According to Cosmopolitan, Universal Studios is already holding July 20, 2029, on its release schedule. This has led to speculation that the spot is reserved for Nolan's next feature. However, sometime in the 2030s may be the most realistic expectation for Nolan’s directorial return. While there is no confirmed news of The Odyssey director's next feature, there are plenty of rumors—as is the Hollywood way. For years there has been talk about the director remaking the 1960s British television series The Prisoner. However, the prospect of this long-rumored project coming to fruition anytime soon seems unlikely. There is also a fan theory that Nolan will approach Homer’s epics in reverse order, releasing The Iliad next. While this is an entertaining idea, it is also unlikely considering the toll Homer's second epic took on the director and his crew. Perhaps audiences' dreams will come true. Perhaps Nolan will discover a worthy concept for a horror flick during the next three years, and surprise the world with a new side to the established auteur.