Cillian Murphy says he has 'ROMO' over not starring in Christopher Nolan's latest film

Cillian Murphy may not be starring in Christopher Nolan's newest film, but he's explained why he doesn't mind being a viewer this time around.

The actor previously worked with the film director in box office hits such as The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2019) Dunkirk (2017) and most recently Oppenheimer (2023).

Nolan's latest project is adapting The Odyssey, an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, recalling Odysseus's (king of Ithaca and the story's protagonist) decade-long journey home following the Trojan War.

It will be released on July 17, 2026, with cinemagoers already booking tickets to see the star-studded cast, which includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and Jon Bernthal.

But you won't be seeing Murphy join them, and in a recent interview with Variety, he was asked whether he had "FOMO" (fear of missing out) when seeing photos from the upcoming film.

“I have ROMO: ‘Relief of missing out," Murphy admitted, with a laugh.

“No can’t wait to see it,” he added. “If any director in the world could tackle The Odyssey, it’s going to be Christopher Nolan. I’m so excited to see it."

“He’s one in a million, he’s been a huge part of my life as an actor, and I just can’t wait to see what he does with it.”

Then Murphy appeared as a guest on The Late Show, where host Stephen Colbert brought up his "ROMO" comment.

To which the Oppenheimer actor gave further detail on why he feels this relief and is looking forward to seeing The Odyssey without seeing himself in the film.

"I guess it's the opposite of FOMO, but what I should clarify this, what I meant to say was that it’s a real gift to go and see Chris’ movies and watch them without having the terrible burden of looking at my own stupid head,” he explained.

Have a feeling ROMO is going to catch on...

Murphy's latest film is Steve, based on Max Porter’s bestselling novel Shy, and is a story about a head teacher "facing the impending closure of the reform school where he works, told in parallel with the struggle" of one of his students (Jay Lycurgo), and is out on Netflix on October 3rd.

Elsewhere from indy100, The Odyssey ticket resale shows the chokehold Nolan has on cinema, and Cillian Murphy's 'cameo' in 28 Years Later becomes instant meme,

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