Robert Pattinson to Play Hermes in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Joins Filming in Italy

Robert Pattinson has joined the filming of Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey in Favignana, Italy, alongside Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland.

According to reports, Pattinson will be playing the role of the Greek messenger god Hermes, one of the Twelve Olympians and the herald of the gods. Hermes is also known as the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He appears three times in Homer’s Odyssey.

Pattinson joined one month after filming began on The Odyssey. We also spotted Hathaway on set for the first time. She is playing the role of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus (Matt Damon) and the mother of Telemachus (Tom Holland).

During the filming in Italy, Holland and Zendaya were also seen — as she is playing Athena — the goddess of wisdom and war, and a main divine ally of Odysseus (Damon) throughout his journey.

At CinemaCon 2025 (via Variety), Jim Orr, Universal’s head of distribution, said that The Odyssey is still shooting and will be “a visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would quite likely be proud of.”

Here’s the plot details for The Odyssey:

The Odyssey will be a mythical 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.

The film stars Damon as Odysseus, Holland as his son Telemachus, Hathaway as Penelope, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Circe, Lupita Nyong’o as Calypso, Mia Goth, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Pattinson, Corey Hawkins, Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg, and Cosmo Jarvis.

The film is produced by Nolan alongside his producing partner and wife, Emma Thomas, under their Syncopy banner. The project will have a $250 million budget, making it one of Nolan’s most expensive films ever.

The Odyssey will hit theaters on July 17, 2026, by Universal Pictures.