5 Lessons Filmmakers Can Learn from the 'Odyssey' Trailer

The new Odyssey trailer is a lot to absorb in one sitting.

It's big and fast and filled with detail, while also being absolutely stacked with shots that deserve to be paused and studied. But beyond the spectacle, there's a solid amount of craft education happening across those couple of minutes. How is the trailer structured? What does it tell us about story? What is the cinematography saying?

Let's break down what filmmakers can take away from it.

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Start with Desire, Not Action

The trailer does not open with a battle. It opens with Charlize Theron's Calypso asking Matt Damon's Odysseus what he remembers.

He remembers a wife. A son. A home. And that's the whole movie's emotional engine that keeps Odysseus on his journey.

Nolan is telling you exactly what the stakes are before he shows you any monsters or battles. No matter the scale of what you're making, if the audience doesn't understand what your protagonist wants, nothing that follows will land the way it should. It'll look cool, sure, but might end up forgettable.

This applies to stories and scripts as a whole, as well as to how you might edit a trailer. Offer something to connect to and at least make something clear about who we're following and what they want. Starting with a bang can work (a big battle in a historical drama, a slasher opening, a murder in a crime thriller), but you still need somewhere to go in terms of tension and emotion, too.

IMAX as a Storytelling Decision

Nolan and his longtime collaborator, cinematographer Hoyt van Hoytema, used new, lighter-weight IMAX cameras to shoot around the world, including parts of the open sea, and this film is the first narrative feature ever shot entirely on IMAX.

For Nolan, this is a philosophical position about the relationship between format and story. Critics who saw earlier footage highlighted van Hoytema's use of shadows, and the contrast between deep darkness and bursts of light feels right for a story about a mortal navigating between gods and men. The cinematography is doing thematic work, as it should.

“This has been an absolute nightmare to film—but in all the right ways,” Nolan said of the production at CinemaCon (via MPA).

When you're choosing your format, you need to think about more than what you have access to. It's probably not IMAX or VistaVision or even film at all. Instead, think about what the image is supposed to feel like and whether your format earns it.

The Odyssey Credit: Universal Pictures

Casting Makes an Impact in Seconds

The trailer gives us our first look at Robert Pattinson as Antinous, and it's already clear he's going to be one of the most gripping roles in this film. Antinous tells Penelope (Anne Hathaway), "This is a household waiting for a master. I want you to choose me."

Again, we immediately get clarity of purpose and intent. The line might read a little on-the-nose ("I want x"), but there are moments that this kind of writing can work, and a complicated work like Homer's epic poem gets a pass.

Pattison doesn't really have a role he typically fills, so we can't say he's cast against type in The Odyssey. He's been everything from a sparkling vampire lover to a bumbling small-time conman to the Batman himself. He's incredibly versatile. And he's leaned toward villain roles as of late, but Antinous is among the few straight baddies he's played.

Casting a typical heartthrob as your antagonist can be a great creative choice, and again, it helps catch the audience's attention quickly.

The film also stars Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, and Jovan Adepo, among others.

Casting intentionally, even in student films and shorts, tells the audience what kind of film they're in.

Practical, Practical, Practical

Nolan drew inspiration from the films of special effects artist Ray Harryhausen and chose to depict a realistic interpretation of Greek mythology. You can feel that in the way the Cyclops, the whirlpool, and other horrors of the journey are presented in the trailer, in fairly grounded ways. They're certainly set pieces, but they're not overly stylized.

The Cyclops is rumored to be a to-scale animatronic made in cooperation with Adam Wright, per World of Reel.

Last month, Holland told Variety about the film's stunning practical effects:

“There were certain sequences in the movie where I’m watching it and I’m just sort of thinking like, ‘How on earth has he done that? That has to be CG.' And then after the movie asking him, ‘That was definitely CG, right?’ And he’s like, ‘No, no, no, that’s all in camera effects. Very planned, very prepared.’ So I think fans are going to be really, really blown away by the set pieces and sequences throughout the movie, because even as someone that was there on the day and was in the film, I was absolutely blown away by the scale, the scope, his ability to navigate such an intricate and heartfelt story in the middle of this insane kind of action movie.”

We're definitely practical effects fans here. The audience and talent benefit so much from having something to actually see and play off of.

Physical Preparation Reads on Camera, Too

To prepare for his lead role, Damon underwent an extensive training regimen and a strict diet to reduce his weight to 167 pounds.

He also grew a full beard for a year. Nolan declined to use artificial facial hair because he wanted to capture the physicality of real hair.

"I had a beard like yours for like a year," Damon told Entertainment Weekly. "I was in really good shape. I lost a lot of weight. [Nolan] wanted me lean but strong."

If you're directing actors (or if you're an actor preparing a role), this is your reminder that what you bring to set physically is the foundation on which everything else is built.