Christopher Nolan's forthcoming film adaptation of The Odyssey follows Homer's poem faithfully in its ending, with Matt Damon's Odysseus returning to Ithaca, proving his identity to wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland), and slaying the suitors vying to marry Penelope. The article explores how the film's conclusion departs from the source material and compares it with other reinterpretations of the myth, offering context for viewers curious about what becomes of Odysseus once the credits roll.

Unlike Homer's poem, which sees a civil war erupt after the suitors' deaths until the goddess Athena intervenes, Nolan's film reportedly omits this conflict entirely, instead having Odysseus sail off into the west with Penelope and leave Telemachus as king, echoing the ending of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The piece also cites later interpretations, including Tennyson's 1842 poem "Ulysses" and Nikos Kazantzakis's 20th-century sequel novel, as well as the ancient lost epic The Telegony, which continued the story of Odysseus and the enchantress Circe.