Christopher Nolan says the online conversation surrounding The Odyssey is ultimately “irrelevant.”
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, the Oscar-winning filmmaker responded to criticism surrounding his adaptation of Homer’s epic, which has sparked online debate over some of its casting choices and the use of American accents and modern dialogue in its trailers.
“Comes with the territory,” Nolan told the publication. “But look, these conversations that happen before people see the film — they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.”
The director went on to compare the early reaction to The Odyssey with his experience of the beloved Dark Knight trilogy.
“I spent 10 years of my life dealing with Batman,” the 55-year-old said. “When I came on to Batman Begins, writers and artists had been working on this beloved character for almost 65 years, and a lot of freighted thoughts were out there about what he represents. And what I learnt over my time on that trilogy is you can’t worry about any of that at all. What you have to do is honour the original text by interpreting it in the strongest way you personally can.”
Nolan recalled facing similar skepticism before The Dark Knight, particularly after the late Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. At the time, Ledger was known for rom-com films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale, and some fans questioned the casting. Ledger ultimately won a posthumous Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance.
“In the end, fans of the property — even when we were doing something that was not what they would have done — enjoyed the sincerity of the attempt to put as good a version of it on screen as we could,” Nolan added.
“So, when it comes to The Odyssey, all I can do is make the best film I possibly can in the most sincere way. It’s very different from how anyone else would do it, but that’s what adaptation is.”
Nolan has also addressed The Odyssey’s use of modern dialogue.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the filmmaker said the decision was intended to make Homer’s story feel more fresh to modern audiences.
“When you look at the ancient world, people tend to view the ancient world in weird ways and there’s a lot of cultural prejudice — elevating it just because it’s old,” he said. “When you go to the poem, what you find is something that’s really earthy, grounded and accessible. So, for me, in building the world of the film, what I talk to all the actors about is, I want to center it on that and make it feel very fresh for modern audiences and do away with some of those assumptions.”
Following the film’s casting announcement, conservative commentator Matt Walsh criticized Lupita Nyong’o’s casting as Helen of Troy in posts on X, with Elon Musk replied to one of Walsh’s posts, agreeing. Musk also interacted with posts mocking Elliot Page’s casting as Sinon.
The epic stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, whose long journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War reunites him with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). The cast also includes Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Travis Scott, Charlize Theron and more.
The Odyssey arrives in theaters July 17.