Filming has officially commenced on Christopher Nolan's upcoming epic fantasy action film The Odyssey, an adaptation of the epic Homer poem of the same name.
The project's star-studded cast includes the likes of Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, and several others, with Odysseus himself played by none other than Matt Damon.
The 54-year-old will play the titular legendary Greek king of Ithaca and has already started to transform himself for the role, sporting a long, gray bushy beard that he debuted in its glory during an appearance at SXSW earlier this month with Ben Affleck.
© Getty ImagesThe best friends stopped by for the premiere of The Accountant 2, which Matt acted as an executive producer for, before he jetted off to Italy to film The Odyssey.
New photos from the set of the film emerged online capturing Zendaya and Matt in their roles, with the latter pictured shirtless with fabric wrapped around his waist sporting faux cuts.
While his longer hair and beard certainly made an impact, it was his very ripped physique that quickly got fans talking. The actor may have been rocking abs even before the movie, but he has clearly upped the definition for the action epic, and it's already a crowd favorite.
© Agency/NurPhoto/ShutterstockSocial media commenters made their sentiments known with responses like: "Damon better make some space on his mantle for his Best Actor Oscar," and: "Daddy Damon," as well as: "Damn MATT," plus: "Hardly recognized him! Gonna be awesome!"
The Odyssey, which is slated for a July 17, 2026 release, is the follow-up to Christopher's magnum opus thus far, 2023's Oppenheimer, which won him his first Oscar after five previous nominations.
© Getty ImagesThe Cillian Murphy starrer was the darling of the 2023-24 award season, walking home with several prizes across a variety of ceremonies for its direction, acting, cinematography and score, eventually winning seven Oscars from 13 nominations, two for the English filmmaker alone.
Matt also starred in Oppenheimer (winning a SAG Award as part of the ensemble), and Ben recently spoke with GQ about his childhood friend's methodical choices when it came to the film business.
"Matt learned and knew earlier than I did to really key in on the director as the fundamental basis on which he's going to make a decision whether to do a movie or not, which was a very wise choice," the dad-of-three explained.
"And also he has certainly had opportunities to do movies that like — it's not like I was saying, 'No, Scorsese, no, Spielberg, I'm not going to be in your movie.' We're in situations of our opportunities, and we're subject to that."
© Getty ImagesReferencing the Air actor's prolific work with auteurs like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, Ben added: "If Martin Scorsese called me and told me to play a waiter, I would take it. Steven Spielberg is one of the great filmmaking architects to ever live. I feel that way about Chris Nolan. I may go visit Matt on the set just to watch Nolan direct. I'm not even kidding at all."
