Zendaya Is Playing This Iconic Goddess In Her New Movie
Things are about to get mythological.
All hail Zendaya. The superstar is reaching heavenly new heights with her next major acting role, in which she is set to star as one of the most well-known Greek goddesses. After a year of secrecy, Zendaya’s role in the upcoming epic The Odyssey has been unveiled, and the part also teases some screen time with her IRL fiancé Tom Holland.
Zendaya was first announced as a cast member of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey back in November 2024. At the time, her part was not revealed. But, new photos published in the Nov. 20 issue of Empire confirm that she will be portraying Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
While not necessarily a main character in Homer’s Odyssey, Athena pops up at several critical moments in the ancient poem. She frequently appears as a guide for Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. Most notably, it is Athena who encourages Telemachus to seek out news of his father at the beginning of the story, acting as a catalyst for most of the action.
This is another layer of what makes Zendaya’s casting as Athena so exciting — the role of Telemachus is being played by Holland. While no, Athena and Telemachus don’t have a romantic relationship like the engaged actors do, the casting does mean that Zendaya and Holland will likely share some scenes together in The Odyssey.
Of couse, this isn’t the first time that Zendaya and Holland have shared the screen. The couple has been showing off their love in the Spider-Man movies since 2017.
The new Empire photos also confirmed a couple other mysterious roles in The Odyssey — Robert Pattinson has been revealed to be playing Antinous, one of Penelope’s suitors, and John Leguizamo will play Odysseus’ servant Eumaeus.
The rest of the movie’s star-studded cast includes Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Charlize Theron as Circe, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, and Mia Goth as Melantho. There are various other buzzy actors who have been cast in undisclosed roles, such as: Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page, and Benny Safdie.
The Odyssey will sail into theaters on July 17, 2026.
