Christopher Nolan says the online conversation is around Odyssey ultimately “doesn’t matter.”
In a recent interview with TelegraphThe Oscar-winning director has responded to criticism of his adaptation of Homer’s epic, which has sparked debate online over some of the casting choices and the use of American accents and modern dialogue in the trailers.
“It comes with the territory,” Nolan told the publication. “But look, these conversations that happen before people see the film are always irrelevant because no one who is having them yet knows what the film actually is.”
The director went on to compare the early reaction to Odyssey with your experience beloved Dark Knight trilogy.
“I spent 10 years of my life hanging out with Batman,” the 55-year-old said. “When I came to Batman BeginsWriters and artists have been working on this beloved character for almost 65 years, and there have been many disturbing thoughts about what he represents. And while working on this trilogy, I realized that there is no need to worry about this at all. What you need to do is honor the original text by interpreting it as convincingly as possible.”
Nolan recalled encountering similar skepticism before. Dark Knightespecially after the late Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. At the time, Ledger was known for rom-coms such as 10 things I hate about you And Knight’s taleand some fans questioned the casting. Ledger ultimately won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role.
“At the end of the day, fans of this project – even when we did something they didn’t do – enjoyed the sincerity of trying to put on screen the best version possible,” Nolan added.
“So when it comes to Odysseyall I can do is make the best film I can in the most sincere way. It’s very different from how someone else would do it, but that’s the adaptation.”
Nolan also addressed Odyssey use of modern dialogue.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the director said the decision was intended to make Homer’s story fresher for modern audiences.
“When you look at the ancient world, people tend to look at it in a strange way, and there’s a lot of cultural prejudice about praising it just because it’s old,” he said. “When you go to a poem, you find something that’s really grounded and grounded and accessible. So when I’m creating the world of the film, I talk to all the actors about how I want to center it around that and make it very fresh for a modern audience and break away from some of those assumptions.”
Following the film’s casting announcement, conservative commentator Matt Walsh criticized the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in posts on X, and Elon Musk responded to one of Walsh’s posts by agreeing. Musk also commented on posts mocking the casting of Elliot Page as Sinon.
In the epic film, Matt Damon plays 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 others.
Odyssey hits theaters July 17.