The trailer for The Odyssey, the upcoming film from director Christopher Nolan, is drawing strong reactions online as it heads toward its summer release. The film has become a flashpoint in a growing culture debate, with viewers split over creative choices and casting decisions.
According to Comic Basics, the latest trailer is now the most disliked in Nolan’s career on YouTube. The video currently holds about 325,000 likes and 190,000 dislikes. That means roughly 59 percent of viewers responded negatively, a serious blackmark for a filmmaker known for global hits like Inception and Oppenheimer.
The Odyssey adapts Homer’s ancient Greek epic, believed to date back to the eighth or seventh century BCE. Matt Damon plays Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, as he struggles to return home after the Trojan War. The story follows his encounters with mythological threats such as a cyclops and deadly sirens. Back in Ithaca, his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway, fends off suitors who assume Odysseus is dead. Robert Pattinson plays Antinous, while Tom Holland appears as Telemachus, the hero’s son.
Many critics point to historical inconsistencies, questioning the armor designs that appear out of step with the Bronze Age setting along with the modern language and American accents being used by characters in an ancient Greek story. Comparisons have also been made to Troy, the 2004 film that took its own liberties but leaned more heavily on British accents despite some historical gaps as well.
Perhaps the most backlash centers on casting. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o is set to play both Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Zendaya as the goddess Athena and Charlize Theron as Calypso. As well as some casting that seems to be getting the most mockery, Ellen/Elliot Page’s reported involvement as Achilles, though details about that role remain unclear. The complaints about the depiction of Helen of Troy, is that it explicitly departs from traditional descriptions in the source material which makes clear the woman is white and the most beautiful in the world that most don’t consider Lupita Nyong’o to come anywhere close to that description.
Greek viewers seem insulted the most, with a few commmentors pointing out that the production accepted millions in local subsidies while failing to cast Greek actors in major roles, while they also feel betrayed that script draws adapts a modern, feminist translation that shifts the tone of the original story in ways they reject.
Despite the controversy, the trailer has surpassed 23 million views and sits at number one on YouTube’s Movies Trending chart. The strong engagement suggests public interest remains high, even as though it’s not positive engagement. Whether the backlash will impact box office performance isn’t clear yet, but we’ll find out very soon since The Odyssey is set to hit theaters on July 17.
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English (US) · 