On a windswept beach in Morocco last year, director Christopher Nolan and his crew undertook the physical and technical challenges of bringing an iconic element of classical mythology to life for his latest film, “The Odyssey.” Central to the production was a towering, 35-foot-tall replica of the Trojan horse, designed to appear as a weathered, half-buried relic washed ashore. This colossal prop, constructed from fiberglass, wood, and steel and weighing approximately 8,000 pounds, played a pivotal role in Nolan’s ambitious adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.

Nolan’s version of the Trojan horse diverges from traditional depictions by standing on its hind legs, inspired by the pose of a rearing horse captured in a photograph of production designer Ruth De Jong. The intention was to infuse the legendary wooden contraption with greater monumentality and urgency. The filmmakers strategically placed the horse deep in sand on Morocco’s Atlantic coast to evoke the feel of a sacrificial offering left behind by a retreating army, while also paying homage to cinematic imagery such as the Statue of Liberty in “Planet of the Apes.”

Filming took place over 91 days across six countries, including Morocco’s Essaouira and the mountain village of Aït Benhaddou, where a full-scale set of Troy was constructed. Throughout production, the crew contended with maintaining the horse’s structural integrity amid pounding surf and harsh environmental conditions. Approximately 250 actors and stunt performers were enlisted to physically drag the massive prop over dunes and through log rollers using ropes, a process that became a defining, visceral aspect of the shoot.

The physical limitations and logistics of managing the horse inspired a grounded approach, with Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema—who has collaborated with the director on five films—noting the need to deliver a sense of tangible reality. Van Hoytema described the process as akin to method acting in filmmaking, emphasizing Nolan’s trademark pursuit of plausibility even when dealing with mythic subject matter.

The Trojan horse sequences frame the film’s narrative, which reimagines the sprawling and episodic nature of Homer’s “Odyssey” with a focus on visceral realism. This includes a memorable scene in which Odysseus’s son, Telemachus (played by Tom Holland), hears an account of the horse from Greek general Menelaus (Jon Bernthal). The film depicts a claustrophobic, nearly documentary-style portrayal of Greek warriors hidden inside the hollow wooden horse as it is flooded by seawater and attacked. To achieve this, the production team constructed a specialized silo-like structure equipped with LED lights to simulate dim sunlight filtering through the horse’s hull, with actors and crew, including Nolan and van Hoytema, confined within the cramped, wet set during filming with IMAX cameras.

Produced on a $250 million budget and featuring a star-studded cast including Matt Damon as Odysseus, “The Odyssey” is the first Hollywood film shot entirely using IMAX film cameras. It opened to strong global box office receipts, generating $264.1 million in its debut weekend, marking Nolan’s largest worldwide opening to date.

Nolan first conceived of the horse image more than 20 years ago during consideration for a directorial role on the film “Troy.” Instead, he pursued other projects before returning to Homeric material with this production. With “The Odyssey,” Nolan sought to translate an ancient Bronze Age tale into a large-scale cinematic spectacle while adhering to his guiding principle of grounding even the mythic elements in believability. The film’s nonlinear storytelling and thematic focus on deception and violence reflect Nolan’s signature style and long-term creative vision.