Matt Damon has confirmed that Christopher Nolan built a real 60-foot Cyclops puppet for The Odyssey and filmed it inside Psychro Cave, the site where Greek mythology places the birth of Zeus, rather than relying on a fully CGI creature.
- The Odyssey is the first narrative feature shot 100% on IMAX 70mm film, made possible by new equipment that quietens the notoriously noisy IMAX camera for dialogue scenes.
- UAE cinemas list the film for around 16-17 July 2026, in line with the global release, with a runtime of roughly 172 minutes.
- Advance bookings are expected to open ahead of release; UAE chains currently show the film as ‘coming soon’ with showtimes appearing closer to the date.
Christopher Nolan flipping a real lorry for The Dark Knight and detonating a practical atomic blast for Oppenheimer left one obvious question hanging over The Odyssey: how do you do a Cyclops for real? Matt Damon has now answered it. Speaking on the Good Hang podcast, Damon revealed that Nolan’s team built a 60-foot puppet of the creature and filmed it inside Psychro Cave, the real location where Greek mythology places the birth of Zeus.
A giant puppet in the cave where Zeus was born
Most productions would stage a sequence like this on a soundstage, point the actors at a tennis ball, and let the visual effects team sort out the monster later. Nolan instead had a set built inside the actual cave and put a full-scale puppet in it.
“He does as little special effects as humanly possible,” Damon said. “You can do quite a bit without CGI. He understands what year he lives in and has the absolute best special effects teams, they really help try to figure out how we can do just about everything in-camera.”
It is worth being precise about what that means. Nolan does use CGI to blend and enhance his practical work; he simply refuses to lean on it as the foundation of a shot when a budget of this size lets him build the thing instead. The Cyclops was the sequence fans were most sceptical about, and it turns out the answer was carpentry, puppetry and a cave, with digital work in support rather than in charge.
The first film shot entirely on IMAX 70mm
The other milestone here is technical. Nolan has long wanted to shoot a full feature on IMAX 70mm film, but the camera was historically too loud to use for dialogue scenes, which is why Interstellar and Oppenheimer reserved it for set pieces and establishing shots. IMAX developed new equipment to suppress the camera’s noise, and The Odyssey becomes the first narrative-driven commercial film shot 100% on IMAX film as a result.
The practical upshot for viewers: if there was ever a film worth paying the premium-format surcharge for, it is one where every single frame was composed for the giant screen, not just the highlights.
When and how to watch it in the UAE
UAE cinemas list The Odyssey for around 16-17 July 2026, matching the global rollout, and chains including Roxy Cinemas already have the film on their coming-soon pages with notification options for when booking opens. Producer Emma Thomas has confirmed the film runs under three hours, and UAE listings currently show an approximate 172-minute runtime, though that is subject to final confirmation.
Individual showtimes, including IMAX sessions, will only appear closer to release, and Roxy’s promotional posts suggest advance bookings will open ahead of July, with the usual warning that the good seats for opening-weekend shows go quickly. If you want a specific IMAX slot, keep an eye on the cinema and distributor pages rather than waiting for the placeholders to update on their own.
FAQ
Is the Cyclops in The Odyssey CGI?
Not primarily. Matt Damon revealed that Nolan’s team built a real 60-foot Cyclops puppet and filmed it inside Psychro Cave, with CGI used to enhance and blend the practical work rather than replace it.
When does The Odyssey release in UAE cinemas?
UAE cinemas list The Odyssey for around 16-17 July 2026, in line with the global release. Showtimes and IMAX sessions will appear on booking pages closer to the date.
Why is The Odyssey’s IMAX shoot a first?
It is the first narrative feature shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film. The IMAX camera was previously too noisy for dialogue scenes, but new sound-suppression equipment made a full 100% IMAX shoot possible.
How long is The Odyssey?
Producer Emma Thomas has confirmed the film runs under three hours, and UAE listings currently show an approximate runtime of 172 minutes, subject to final confirmation.