How ‘The Odyssey’ Connects to Every Other Christopher Nolan Film

There’s a famous quote attributed to the great French filmmaker Jean Renoir. “A director only makes one film in his life,” Renoir said. “Then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.”

This may be an exaggeration, but in the case of Christopher Nolan, there is a fair amount of truth to it as well. Nolan has directed 13 feature films over his career so far, including his latest project, The Odyssey. A big-budget retelling of one of the most important works of ancient literature, it follows Trojan war veteran Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his years-long voyage home from battle. Meanwhile, back in Odysseus’ kingdom, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) fend off the advances of a legion of suitors, including the slimy Antinous (Robert Pattinson)

Set thousands of years before any of his other movies, populated by hideous monsters and powerful gods, flecked with elements of the supernatural, The Odyssey doesn’t appear to hold a lot in common with Nolan’s prior work. But there’s a reason Christian Bale’s character in The Prestige repeatedly asks his audience “Are you watching closely?” Nothing happens by chance in a Christopher Nolan, and he didn’t just pick Homer’s Odyssey at random. A closer look at the film reveals that it contains references, allusions, and strong thematic ties to every other thing Nolan has ever made.

Let’s go film by film and identify some of those ties. (Just for fun, I’ve also included a list of all the actors these films share.) Bear in mind: There may be some minor spoilers for The Odyssey below — a story, I want to reiterate, is roughly 3,000 years old. If that bothers you, go get lost in a mythological whirlpool.