Christopher Nolan pushes IMAX filmmaking limits with ‘Odyssey’

Christopher Nolan has always been eager to push the limits of his filmmaking, and for his upcoming film, Odyssey, the visionary director is revolutionizing filmmaking with IMAX.

Although many directors have shot scenes in IMAX before, no entire film had been shot in the large-scale IMAX format until Nolan entered the field.

So, Nolan’s Odyssey became the first film to ever be shot end-to-end on an IMAX camera, which was possible with the collaboration of master cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema.

While speaking to Empire in an interview published on November 14, Hoytema revealed: “I presented Chris with a very big close-up of a child on the IMAX screen, reciting David Bowie’s ‘Sound And Vision’ from a piece of paper.”

The cinematographer described that the technology “fused” image and sound together, which blew Nolan away.

“It was electrifying,” Nolan shared with the outlet. “We never would have been able to get those shots before.”

The filming with the high-resolution heavy camera was made possible with a casing called a “blimp,” which helped in cutting the noise the IMAX camera produces.

“The blimp system is a game-changer,” Nolan explained. “You can be shooting a foot from [an actor’s] face while they’re whispering and get usable sound. What that opens up are intimate moments of performance on the world’s most beautiful format.”

However, the Interstellar director stepped beyond elusive filmmaking boundaries, but he assured that no IMAX cameras were subjected to any harm during the production process.

“I did not destroy an IMAX camera on this film,” Nolan proudly asserted. “I have destroyed several in my time, but these ones survived Odyssey.”

Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, Odyssey, starring Tom Holland, opens in theatres on July 17, 2026.

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