Christopher Nolan's ambitious undertaking, titled "The Odyssey," reimagines the timeless Greek myth on an epic scale and marks a groundbreaking milestone: it will be entirely filmed using Imax film cameras—a first for a mainstream motion picture. Renowned for his penchant for the cinematic grandeur, Nolan has previously harnessed the power of Imax for films like "Dunkirk," "Interstellar," the "Dark Knight" trilogy, and "Tenet," as well as extensively in his latest directorial endeavor, "Oppenheimer." However, the prospect of capturing an entire feature with the iconic, bulky, and noisy Imax film cameras (as opposed to the sleeker, quieter digital Imax alternatives featured in recent releases such as "Thunderbolts*" and the forthcoming "Superman") was once deemed impractical.
That was, until now.
Following the triumph of "Oppenheimer," which garnered an impressive 20% of its total gross—exceeding $190 million—from Imax screenings, Nolan issued a challenge to the company. He urged them to innovate, lightweight and silence their cameras, and address the intricacies of scanning and processing the cameras' 70mm film stock, enabling him to seamlessly review dailies on set.
"Chris reached out and declared, 'If you can overcome these hurdles, I will shoot "Odyssey" 100% in Imax.' And that's precisely what we're accomplishing," imparted Imax CEO Rich Gelfond at the company's annual press lunch in Cannes on Thursday. "He propelled us to reimagine our film recorders and cameras."
The revamped Imax cameras have reportedly been silenced by 30%—perhaps signaling the end of Nolan's notorious muffled dialogues—and significantly lightened. Gelfond assured that advanced film scanning and processing methods would expedite the dailies process.
For the time being, Nolan has exclusive access to these state-of-the-art cameras. However, upon wrapping "The Odyssey," Imax intends to rent them out to fellow directors.
The demand is anticipated to be substantial. Gelfond highlighted the "record number" of films slated for release in 2025 that have incorporated Imax cameras or have been "filmed for Imax" using approved equipment. Notable mentions include Ryan Coogler's "Sinners," Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning," which premiered in Imax at Cannes on Wednesday evening, and Joseph Kosinski's upcoming racing drama "Formula One," starring Brad Pitt.
Greta Gerwig's forthcoming fantasy film, "Narnia," is also slated for Imax, though Gelfond noted that it was uncertain whether the "Barbie" helmer would utilize Imax cameras for specific scenes. Netflix has sealed a global partnership with Imax, granting them a 28-day exclusive theatrical run for "Narnia" prior to its streaming debut.
Gelfond further announced the production of "Patrouille de France," the maiden foreign-language Imax documentary. A collaborative effort between Federation Studios and Imago Production, this feature-length documentary chronicles a year in the life of the legendary Patrouille de France, the aerobatic team of the French Air and Space Force, from selection and rigorous training to their elite aerial performances. Building on the success of "The Blue Angels," Paul Crowder's documentary produced with Amazon MGM Studios, this project underscores Imax's commitment to documenting aerial marvels.
