Jon Bernthal joins Christopher Nolan's new movie but, like the rest of The Odyssey, everything about his role is being kept a secret

The Punisher actor Jon Bernthal is the latest actor to join the cast of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

As per Deadline, Bernthal is hopping on board the director's historical epic but, beyond that, his role is "unknown." That falls in line with the veil of secrecy covering much of Nolan's latest project. Amid early rumors that went nowhere (including something, bizarrely, about helicopter pilots), all we have right now to go on is the source material – Homer's Odyssey – and a stacked cast.

Bernthal joins Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyongo'o, Charlize Theron, and Zendaya in The Odyssey, which Deadline speculates will begin shooting next month.

For those who skipped out on Greek Mythology 101, The Odyssey charts the epic saga of hero Odysseus as he confronts everything from Cyclops to Sirens on his way back to his wife Penelope after the Trojan War. It's been adapted and revised across media, but only rarely as a straight one-to-one take on Homer's epic poem.

Most notably, The Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou was loosely based on The Odyssey, but the story has also been spoofed, skewered, and parodied in everything from The Simpsons to James Joyce's seminal 1922 novel Ulysses.

The Odyssey is set to hit theaters on July 17, 2026. Upon its unveiling in December, Universal wrote in a statement, "Christopher Nolan's next film 'The Odyssey' is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer's foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time."

For more, check out our ranking of the best Christopher Nolan movies and all the movie release dates you have to look forward to in 2025.