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Nearly three millennia after Homer first told the story of a Greek king struggling to return home after war, The Odyssey is returning to the big screen in what many see as the most ambitious adaptation of the ancient epic to date.
Directed by Academy Award winner Christopher Nolan, the filmmaker behind Oppenheimer, Dunkirk and The Dark Knight trilogy, the film has been billed as a large-scale retelling of one of the foundational works of Western literature.
The highly anticipated mythic action epic opens globally in theaters, including IMAX screens, on Friday.
But the buzz has been matched by weeks of online debate over casting choices, the decision to film in Western Sahara, the use of contemporary dialogue and, more recently, a piece of jewelry worn by one of its stars at the premiere.
The Odyssey is based on the ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, believed to have been composed around the 7th or 8th century BC.
It follows the warrior Odysseus on his long, obstacle-filled journey home after the Trojan War, encountering mythical creatures, gods and temptations along the way while his wife, Penelope, fends off suitors back in Ithaca.
Nolan’s version stars Matt Damon as King Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as his faithful wife Penelope, Tom Holland as his son Telemachus, Lupita Nyong’o in dual roles as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Robert Pattinson as the primary antagonist Antinous, Charlize Theron as the nymph Calypso and Zendaya as the Greek goddess Athena.
Nolan’s film is far from the first screen adaptation of Homer’s epic, but it is widely regarded as the largest in scale.
Among the best-known earlier versions are the 1954 film Ulysses, starring Kirk Douglas, and the 1997 television miniseries The Odyssey, featuring Armand Assante. The Coen brothers’ 2000 comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? also drew inspiration from Homer’s work, transplanting the story to Depression-era Mississippi.
Universal Pictures has described the film as a “mythic action epic,” shot entirely with newly developed lightweight IMAX 70mm cameras to capture global landscapes.
The Odyssey received 5-star reviews from several major British newspapers, including The Guardian, The Independent and The Telegraph.
Universal Pictures took the unusual step of skipping social media influencer pre-screenings. Instead, the studio routed the film directly to traditional critics in an effort to protect the rollout.
Much of the online backlash has focused on Nolan’s choices for the ensemble cast.
The casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy drew criticism from some commentators, who argued that casting a Black actress in the role departed from traditional depictions of the mythical Greek queen. Writer Matt Walsh and billionaire Elon Musk accused Nolan of sacrificing historical accuracy and embracing what they described as “woke” casting.
Similar criticism was directed at the casting of transgender actor Elliot Page as the warrior Sinon and rapper Travis Scott in a supporting role.
“I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap,” Nolan said regarding the casting of Travis Scott as a bard in the movie.
Supporters of the casting pushed back, framing the criticism as part of a broader pattern of backlash faced by films and franchise reboots that cast non-white actors in traditionally white roles.
Some viewers also objected to the film’s use of contemporary-sounding dialogue and American accents rather than more formal “epic” language, pointing to moments such as Telemachus calling Odysseus “dad.”
Nolan has defended the creative choice, saying there is no authentic modern equivalent of ancient Greek speech and that using contemporary English allows audiences to connect more directly with the characters.
The production also faced criticism over historical details. Historians and archaeology enthusiasts questioned early promotional images showing Matt Damon’s armor and helmet, arguing that some designs reflected later periods of Greek history rather than the Bronze Age setting traditionally associated with Homer’s epic.
The film has also faced criticism over its decision to shoot scenes in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where Morocco controls most of the land but the UN continues to classify it as a non-self-governing territory.
The Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara), backed by Spanish actors including Javier Bardem, called for a boycott, arguing that filming in the city of Dakhla without the consent of the Sahrawi people risks legitimizing Morocco's control over the territory.
Neither Nolan nor Universal Pictures has publicly responded to the calls.
The sharpest controversy surrounding the film occurred off-screen at a London promotional event.
Zendaya, styled by Law Roach, paired a custom white gown with a pair of ancient gold disc earrings.
Western fashion media initially labeled the look as “inspired by ancient Greece” to honor her role as Athena. However, archaeologists and historical commentators quickly corrected the record, saying the earrings were authentic 3,000-year-old Iranian artifacts.
The earrings, owned by Mayfair-based dealer Barron London and remounted with diamonds by designer Glenn Spiro, are officially cataloged as “Ziwiye gold medallion plaques, circa 1st millennium BC Iran.”
Associate Professor Peter Edwell, a historian at Macquarie University, warned that undisclosed origin on such antiquities “generally indicates the artifact has, at some point, been plundered illegally.”
“It’s believed the items Zendaya wore came from quite a problematic hoard that was discovered in Ziwiye in Iran in the late 1940s,” he told The Lighthouse, Macquarie University’s news platform. “It wasn’t excavated. It was plundered and then dispersed out to private and public collections. These medallion plaques may come from that hoard.”
Others said the timing made the choice especially insensitive amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.
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