Director Christopher Nolan is undeterred by the pre-release backlash that has been brewing on social media in the months leading up to his latest film, The Odyssey. The star-studded film of Homer’s Greek epic angered Elon Musk and Trump’s MAGA base over its casting choices, and historical purists over Nolan’s armor design and American accent and modern English dialogue.
Director Nolan told the Telegraph that the backlash before the film’s release was “local in nature.” “But look, these conversations that happen before people see a movie are always irrelevant because the people having the conversation don’t know what the movie actually is yet.”
Director Nolan knew from the beginning that working on “The Odyssey” would provoke strong comments online, and he is a self-proclaimed veteran when it comes to controlling anger before release.
“Keep in mind, I’ve spent 10 years of my life working on Batman. When I came to Begins, the writers and artists had been working on this beloved character for nearly 65 years, and there were a lot of complexities about what he represented.” The idea was there. And what I learned over time with that trilogy is that you don’t have to worry about any of that at all. What you have to do is interpret it in the most powerful way that you personally can, and honor the original text.”
“Ultimately, the fans of this movie enjoyed our honest attempt to put the best possible version on screen, even if we were doing things they wouldn’t do,” Nolan continued. “All I can do is make the best film I can, in the most honest way. It’s very different from how other people do it, but that’s what adaptation is all about.”
Elon Musk has been one of the most vocal opponents of “Odyssey” on social media. He objected to the film in February after word broke that Lupita Nyong’o would play Helen of Troy. “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity,” Musk said.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh used X to insult Nyong’o, writing, “Not a single person on earth thinks Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.'” But director Christopher Nolan knows he will be called a racist if he gives the role of “Most Beautiful Woman” to a white woman. Nolan is technically talented, but a coward. ” Musk claimed that Nolan “wanted the award” because he thought Nolan was changing the race of the characters in “The Odyssey.”
Musk also retweeted an X post that mocked Elliot Page’s masculinity and claimed Nolan was stepping on Homer’s grave with his casting choices. The MAGA base flared with anger at the idea that Page might play the legendary Greek warrior Achilles, even though it was an unsubstantiated claim at the time. It turns out that Page doesn’t even play Achilles in the movie. Director Nolan cast an actor from “Inception” to play the role of the warrior Sinon.
The design of the film’s armor also came under fire, with many on social media finding it similar to Batman’s more modern Batsuit.
“There’s a Mycenaean dagger in blackened bronze,” Nolan told Time magazine earlier this year in defense of his design. “Theoretically, you could have made bronze black back then. You take bronze, then you add gold and silver, and you use sulfur. In the case of Agamemnon, the costume designer Ellen[Mirojnik]is trying to convey how noble she is compared to everyone else, and she does that using very expensive materials.”
“The Odyssey” will be released in theaters on July 17th by Universal Pictures.
