Christopher Nolan Offered Robert Downey Jr. the Role of Poseidon in The Odyssey, But He Declined for Avengers: Doomsday

Christopher Nolan offered Robert Downey Jr. a Greek god role in The Odyssey, but the actor turned it down for his new Marvel movie.

According to Daniel Richtman, Nolan offered Robert Downey Jr. the role of Poseidon in The Odyssey. However, Downey Jr. had to decline because he is busy filming Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday.

After The Odyssey, Nolan plans to make a film with Downey Jr. as the main lead. Downey Jr. previously played Lewis Strauss in Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023), a biographical film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The movie starred Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and won seven awards at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Downey and Best Director for Nolan.

Filming for The Odyssey is now underway in Marrakesh, Morocco. The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Holland as his son Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Circe, Lupita Nyong’o as Calypso, Mia Goth, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Robert Pattinson, Corey Hawkins, Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, Michael Vlamis, and Iddo Goldberg.

Here’s the synopsis for The Odyssey:

The Odyssey will be a mythic action epic based on the ancient Greek poem by Homer. It tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his perilous journey home after the Trojan War. Set in the 8th century BC, after the ten-year Trojan War, the Greek hero Odysseus travels from Troy to Ithaca via Africa and southern Europe. His journey lasts an additional ten years, during which he faces many dangers, and all of his crewmates are killed.

In his absence, Odysseus is presumed dead, leaving his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, to deal with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope’s hand in marriage.

Nolan will produce alongside his producing partner and wife, Emma Thomas, under their Syncopy banner. Puck reported that the film will have a $250 million budget, making it one of Nolan’s most expensive films ever.

The Odyssey is scheduled to theaters on July 17, 2026, by Universal Pictures.