The Odyssey Star Confirmed to be Playing 2 Different Roles in Christopher Nolan Movie

An Oscar-winning star of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic, The Odyssey, is set to play a major role in the film. Turns out she’s appearing in two different roles for the filmmaker’s ambitious project.

Who is playing two different roles in The Odyssey?

It’s been revealed that Lupita Nyong’o is not only playing Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman who is married to Menelaus, but also her twin sister Clytemnestra, who is married to Menelaus’ brother Agamemnon. The news was confirmed in a new TIME profile of director Nolan. Speaking of Nyong’o, she was recently seen in the 2024 animated film The Wild Robot and A Quiet Place: Day One.

Apart from the Black Panther actress, The Odyssey also features Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope (wife of Odysseus and Queen of Ithaca), Tom Holland as Odysseus’ son Telemachus, and Robert Pattinson as Penelope’s suitor Antinous. Other key cast members include Charlize Theron as the nymph Calypso, John Leguizamo as Odysseus’s servant Eumaeus, John Bernthal as Menelaus, Zendaya as goddess Athena, Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, Mia Goth as Melantho, and Jimmy Gonzales as Cepheus, among others.

Speaking more of The Odyssey, it’s being shot entirely in IMAX, featuring a runtime of three hours. “It’s an epic film, as the subject matter demands,” said Nolan. “But it is shorter.” Describing the stakes involved with this film, he added, “Anyone taking on The Odyssey is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere, and that comes with a huge responsibility.”

Nolan has helmed the movie from his own script. Previously, he mentioned that the movie is for a modern audience. Meaning, it’s “really for people who haven’t read it” and “don’t know anything about it.”

The epic adventure hits theaters in the U.S. on July 17, 2026.

Source: Comingsoon.net