Christopher Nolan is known for his signature “mystery box” marketing, and he just delivered his biggest surprise yet. During Sunday’s AFC Championship game, a new TV spot for The Odyssey (which has since been taken down online) officially confirmed that Travis Scott has joined the star-studded cast. In the brief but atmospheric clip, a bearded Scott appears in period attire alongside Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal, delivering a gravelly monologue about the fall of Troy and the “trick” that brought it to the ground.
This casting marks a significant step up in the creative partnership between the rapper and the director. Scott previously collaborated with Nolan on the Tenet (2020) soundtrack with the original song “The Plan,” but this represents his first on-screen role in a Nolan production. The teaser places him directly in the “Spartan banquet” sequence, a pivotal moment where Telemachus (Holland) searches for news of his father.
The film, which Nolan has described as a “mythic action epic,” features an almost unprecedented ensemble including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong’o. By including a global icon like Scott, Nolan seems to be echoing his Dunkirk strategy of casting pop-culture titans in grounded, dramatic roles to bridge the gap between prestige cinema and modern stardom.
The Odyssey is scheduled to be the cinematic event of the summer, arriving in theaters and IMAX on July 17, 2026.
