Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about releases of the year, and the film hasn’t even opened yet. Between casting controversies, online outrage cycles, and genuine excitement from fans, it’s been a whirlwind few weeks leading up to the debut of this star-studded action-fantasy epic.
The buzz began in earnest earlier this month when ticket sales went live. According to Variety reporting, the AMC ticketing app experienced significant delays, with moviegoers waiting up to an hour to purchase tickets. Fandango’s website also had its share of lag times. People were clearly hungry to see this thing, and the $250 million budget only amplified expectations.
But the online chatter hasn’t been limited to just ticket drama. There’s been plenty of controversy swirling around the film, and it’s worth unpacking what’s actually happening before the release date arrives.
The Casting Turmoil
When it was announced that Lupita Nyong’o had been cast as Helen of Troy, the internet did what the internet does best. Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh posted several tweets on X taking aim at the casting decision, claiming some kind of double standard in how audiences would react to race-swapped roles. Elon Musk, who has been critical of Nolan’s film since early this year, agreed with Walsh’s sentiments.
Nyong’o, who is Kenyan-Mexican and was born in Mexico and grew up in Kenya, responded to the racist backlash in an Elle interview with quiet defiance: “This is a mythological story. Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.”
She has a point. These are fictional characters drawn from ancient mythology, and the casting reflects the world we live in now rather than the bronze age assumptions some seem to want to preserve.
There’s also been speculation about Elliot Page’s involvement in the film. Rumors have been swirling that the actor has been cast as Achilles, though neither the studio nor Nolan has confirmed this. In the trailer, Page’s character asks Odysseus, “Who’s looking after your wife and son?” sparking further debate.
Musk called the potential casting “the dumbest and most twisted things I’ve heard.” Other pundits, including Newsmax host Rob Finnerty, launched into transphobic rants about the speculation. It’s worth noting that Page came out as gay in 2014 and announced that he was transgender in 2020. Until there’s official confirmation, we simply don’t know what role Page is playing. Some speculate it might be Elpenor, a crew member who meets Odysseus in the underworld.
The truth is, none of this is confirmed, and a lot of the outrage seems to be building on speculation rather than facts.
Travis Scott, Dialogue, and Costume Criticisms
In May, Nolan confirmed to Time magazine that Travis Scott had been cast as a bard, a poet who recites stories about heroes. The director said he “wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.” Scott has had five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and wrote the theme song for one of Nolan’s previous films, “Tenet.”
The trailer dropped in May and immediately drew criticism for the modern-sounding dialogue. Critics called out the American accents and language that felt too contemporary for an ancient Greek saga. One user on Reddit quipped, “The way characters talk feels very modern and very off-putting, in movies like this you expect seeing dialogue more elegant and poetic.”
Classicist Emily Wilson, who translated “The Odyssey” into plain language in 2018 and was the first woman to do so according to the New York Times, has a take that might surprise the purists. As she told IGN: “It may be tempting to imagine that a translation of a very ancient poem would be somehow better if it used the language of an earlier era. Mild stylistic archaism is often accepted without question in translations of ancient texts and can be presented as if it were a mark of authenticity. But of course, the English of the 19th or early 20th century is no closer to Homeric Greek than the language of today.”
Costume design has also drawn fire. Social media users criticized the armor of Benny Safdie’s character, Agamemnon, saying it looks like something Batman would wear. “Had no idea Ancient Greeks used Batman helmets and sailed in Viking ships,” one person wrote. Others argued the issue wasn’t historical accuracy but rather boring design choices.
Nolan explained the approach to IGN, noting that blackened bronze was theoretically possible in Mycenaean times, and that the costume for Agamemnon was meant to communicate how elevated he is relative to everyone else through expensive materials.
The IMAX Situation
Here’s something genuinely interesting for film buffs. “The Odyssey” is the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX’s 70mm cameras. Nolan’s a huge proponent of the format, having shot several of his previous films partially in the large format.
The problem? There just aren’t enough theaters equipped to show it the way Nolan intended. Currently, only 24 theaters in the United States are showing the film in the 70mm format, according to IMAX’s website. That’s a tiny fraction of the total screens that will carry the film, meaning most audiences won’t experience it the way the director envisioned.
It’s a reminder that even as we debate casting and dialogue, the way we consume films is changing, and not everyone gets the same movie.
So What’s the Verdict?
The truth is, “The Odyssey” has something for everyone to have an opinion about. Whether you care about casting decisions, dialogue choices, costume design, or the technical presentation, there’s a controversy waiting for you. Some of it is legitimate artistic critique. Some of it is people just looking for a fight.
What we can say for certain is that Nolan knows how to generate buzz. Love him or hate him, the man knows how to make an event film.
Now we just have to wait and see if the actual movie lives up to all the noise.
