Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic The Odyssey will become the first major feature film shot entirely using IMAX 65mm film cameras, marking a historic milestone in cinematic technology and storytelling.

Scheduled for release in July 2026, The Odyssey will showcase the full IMAX 1.43:1 aspect ratio throughout, avoiding the shifting frame formats seen in Nolan’s previous works like Oppenheimer and Interstellar.

This was made possible by a newly developed IMAX film camera, reportedly 30% quieter than earlier models, addressing long-standing issues with on-set dialogue recording.

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond revealed the breakthrough during a press event in Cannes, noting that Nolan personally challenged the company to improve its analog camera tech following the success of Oppenheimer.

“Chris called me up and said, ‘If you can figure out how to solve the problems, I will make Odyssey 100 percent in IMAX.’ And that’s what we’re doing, ” Gelfond said.

While The Odyssey will offer a pure IMAX film experience in premium theatres, standard and home releases are expected to crop the top and bottom of the frame due to format limitations.

This makes it distinct from films like Avengers: Endgame, which were shot on IMAX-certified digital cameras rather than large-format film.

For now, the new cameras are exclusive to Nolan’s production, though IMAX plans to make them available to other filmmakers after shooting concludes.

Titles including Sinners, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and the upcoming Formula One movie are already partially using IMAX, suggesting 2025 and beyond will be record-breaking years for the format.

Netflix’s upcoming Narnia adaptation is also slated for IMAX release, though it remains unclear if it will be filmed using IMAX cameras.