An odyssey is coming to an end this fall.The English PatientstarsRalph FiennesandJuliette Binochereunite as mythological loversOdysseusandPenelopeinThe Return.Deadline reportsthat the film will be released in theaters on December 6.
The film stars Fiennes as Odysseus, who returns after a twenty-year absence to his home kingdom of Ithaca. However, much has changed since he departed to fight the Trojan War; his palace and his ever-faithful wife, Penelope, and under siege from a bevy of uncouth suitors, who want her and the kingdom. Those suitors also plan to eliminate Odysseus and Penelope’s son,Telemachus(Charlie Plummer). Odysseus himself is not unchanged, either; the devastating Trojan War and his arduous journey home have left him a shell of the man he once was. He will need to summon all his courage and his cunning to reunite with his family and destroy the men who wish to take them from him. The new images depict the reunion of the duo, as well as a bearded, bow-wielding Fiennes about to prove his archery skills to his rivals. It is the third collaboration between Fiennes and Binoche, whose doomedEnglish Patientromance burned up the screen in 1996; they first shared the screen inPeter Kosminsky’s 1992 adaptation ofWuthering Heights.
Who Is Odysseus?
Famed for his cunning, Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, a Greek island kingdom. He is called upon to liberate the beautifulHelen, the intended bride of fellow kingMenelaus, from the city-state of Troy, to which she had been abducted byParis. The war raged on for a decade, keeping Odysseus from home and hearth, until Odysseus devised his greatest ruse: the Trojan Horse. The giant wooden structure was seemingly left as a gift to the Trojans by the retreating Greeks, but instead contained the Greeks' finest warriors; once it was inside the city’s walls, they emerged and sacked the city. Victorious, Odysseus set sail for home, but he had incurred the wrath ofPoseidon, the sea god. Thus, his journey was beset by monsters, sorceresses, and disasters, resulting in the short voyage taking another ten years. Odysseus has been portrayed on stage (and later screen) since the days ofHomer, who is credited with the epic poems,The IliadandThe Odyssey, that depict his exploits; his notable portrayers includeKirk Douglas,Armand Assante, andSean Bean.
Uberto Pasolini(Nowhere Special) directedThe Return, and co-wrote it withJohn Collee(Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) and the lateEdward Bond(Blow-Up). Pasolini also produced the film withJames Clayton,Roberto Sessa, andKonstantinos Kontovrakis. Executive producers on the film include Fiennes,Giorgos Karnavas,Torsten Poeck,Andrew Karpen,Kent Sanderson,Nicholas Sandler, andKeith Kehoe.
The Returnwill arrive in theaters on July 14, 2025. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
