Is There A Post-Credits Scene In Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey?

Christopher Nolan's take on the sprawling epic Greek poem "The Odyssey" is finally in theaters — so do you need to stick around after the nearly three-hour film ends to watch a post-credits scene?

Without getting into any spoilers, no. If you make it through "The Odyssey" without going to the bathroom at all, feel free to make a run for it; there is no post-credits scene after "The Odyssey" ends. 

This is completely unsurprising for a couple of reasons — and we'll circle back to those reasons, but let's go over some of the basics first. In Nolan's first blockbuster since his 2023 Oscar winner "Oppenheimer," he brings together returning players like Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, James Remar, Himesh Patel, Benny Safdie, Robert Pattinsoin, and Elliot Page — all of whom have appeared in previous projects from "Tenet" to "Inception" under Nolan's direction — and adds new talent to his cadre of performers like Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, John Leguizamo, "Spider-Man" star Tom Holland, Zendaya, Mia Goth, and Samantha Norton, just to name a few. In this sprawling epic — which earned a positive review right here at Looper — Nolan does a deep dive on the hubris of man, the spoils of war, and how civilizations can fall so easily. Again, there is not a post-credits scene, and that's because the story of "The Odyssey" is about as self-contained as a story can be.

Just in case since you haven't revisited "The Odyssey" since it was on your high school syllabus, here's a quick rundown of what makes it a one-off story with no need for a post-credits scene. (While there are probably arguments to be made by pedants that "The Iliad" is also part of this story, sure ... but it's not particularly relevant to the way that Christopher Nolan has chosen to tell said story.) When things kick off, Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and her nearly-grown son Telemachus (Tom Holland) are trying to figure out if Penelope's long-lost husband and Telemachus' father, the war hero Odysseus (Matt Damon), is alive or dead; after all, the Trojan War ended nearly a decade prior and he never returned from the battlefield along with his victorious allies. 

So where is the guy? Hanging out on an island with his nymph girlfriend Calypso (Charlize Theron), who drugs Odysseus with lotus flowers to help him forget the trauma of his past. As she withholds the flowers and Odysseus starts to remember, he details everything that happened as he and his men tried to get home from the war, from caves with cyclops hiding inside to vengeful witches who turn the men into pigs. Odysseus does finally manage to make his way back to his home in Ithaca, and we won't "spoil" the ins and outs here, even though the epic poem is thousands of years old. 

Again, there's no post-credits scene here ... but come to think of it, has a movie by Nolan ever had a post-credits scene?

None of Christopher Nolan's movies have ever — not once — featured a post-credits scene ... and in fact, after some comments about the very matter circulated in 2014, our friends at Looper's sister site /Film did a deep dive trying to figure out his feelings on the matter. Here's the gist, though. Except for Nolan's famous Dark Knight trilogy, which was conceived as a trilogy in the first place, Nolan is not in the habit of extending his stories past their natural endpoint. There's no "Inception 2," "Tenet 2," or "Dunkirk 2," because Nolan smartly understands his own subjects and doesn't push them into sequels that, honestly, nobody wants.

Nolan's distaste for post-credits scenes aside, when "The Odyssey" ends, it ... ends. Again, we won't get into spoilers, but the finale of this movie is quite clear and provides closure for the audience, so there's really no continuation needed. Also, at the risk of repeating ourselves, this movie is long — so you can safely head to the bathroom when it ends. 

"The Odyssey" sails into theaters on July 17, 2026.