The feature film adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan is coming to theatres soon, with its release date set for 16 July.
However, if the Hollywood trainwreck that was Disney’s 2025 Snow White has taught us anything is that PR can go bad enough for a major movie project to change that date. While that is not likely to happen to Odyssey in this two-month timeframe, the mounting online backlash against the film is getting more and more reminiscent of the Snow White fiasco from last year, which ended with a 9-figure loss for Disney.
It all started last February, when—as we reported—news broke that Helen of Troy would be played by Kenyan Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o. While it was not confirmed by the studio at the time, it has been since. In fact, it has since been revealed that Nyong’o, in a move that channels the spirit of Eddie Murphy in the 1996 comedy The Nutty Professor, will also be playing Helen’s sister Clytemnestra.
Helen of Troy is repeatedly either described as white herself, or compared to goddesses who, in turn, are described as white in the epic poem she originally appeared in, the Iliad by Homer. Meanwhile, Nyong'o is evidently black.
Then came news of two more dubious casting choices by Nolan.
First, the decision to have the mythic warrior Achilles played by a transgender actor Elliot Page. Page is a biological woman identifying as a man whose height stands at 5’1 (155 cm) and her weight is barely more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms), far from the archetypal warrior stature...
Travis Scott Cast as 'Rapping Bard' in Odyssey
Then, we learnt that rapper Travis Scott will also be appearing in the film as a ‘rapping bard’, reciting verses from the epic poem Odyssey. Nolan spoke to Time Magazine to explain yet another strange casting decision of his, saying: ‘I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap’ on the matter.
However, to the masses of audiences who are already very irritated by ahistorical diversity being forced into mainstream entertainment products, this was just fuel to the fire. Evidently, there is no direct link between epic poetry in ancient Greece and American hip hop music, which was very clearly derived from Jamaican dance hall music in the 1970s.
What’s more, Scott has been involved in a massive and serious scandal. During one of his live shows at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas in November 2021, ten people died in a fatal crowd crush. While members of the audience were yelling at Scott on stage to stop the show to better facilitate the paramedics trying to save the victims' lives, he continued his performance for about 40 minutes after the first casualty.
World's richest man Elon Musk has been a critic of Nolan's new project since the Helen of Troy controversy. He has recently posted on another message on his own social media platform X on the subject, claiming that director Nolan made these odd casting choices to meet the diversity requirements for Oscar eligibility set by the Academy.
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