Christopher Nolan sparks fresh backlash after calling 'The Odyssey' criticism 'irrelevant'
Critics slammed Nolan's response to "The Odyssey" casting backlash involving Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page, and the film's modern language choices.
Christopher Nolan has spoken out about the backlash he's received over his upcoming adaptation of "The Odyssey," and his critics aren't happy.
"Comes with the territory," he told The Telegraph. The outlet described him as "grinning serenely" before "lifting his cup and saucer and taking a theatrical sip."
Nolan added, "But look, these conversations that happen before people see the film — they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet."
Many people don't view their issues with the film as "irrelevant," nor do they seem to believe one needs to see it before criticizing it.
One of the most common problems with the upcoming movie is in its casting choices — Lupita Nyong'o plays Helen of Troy, although critics argue her darker complexion contradicts the character's description in Homer's original epic, and Elliot Page, known for his short, slight build, plays Sinon, a Greek soldier.
The trailer has also gotten a negative response, with viewers calling out the modern language in the ancient Greek setting, as well as the lack of Greek actors.
Nolan told The Telegraph that the reception so far for "The Odyssey" is similar to the concerns he faced while working on his "Batman" trilogy, explaining that when he started with "Batman Begins," a variety of artists had been creating and depicting the character for decades, "and a lot of freighted thoughts were out there about what he represents."
"And what I learned over my time on that trilogy," he continued, "is you can’t worry about any of that at all. What you have to do is honor the original text by interpreting it in the strongest way you personally can."
The director said, "In the end, fans of the property — even when we were doing something that was not what they would have done — enjoyed the sincerity of the attempt to put as good a version of it on screen as we could," adding that he hopes audiences can reach a similar conclusion with "The Odyssey."
"All I can do is make the best film I possibly can in the most sincere way. It’s very different from how anyone else would do it, but that’s what adaptation is," Nolan said.
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While the Oscar-winning filmmaker believes that the movie's current criticism isn't worth considering, his new interview has garnered plenty of attention on its own.
"We don’t need to see the film," one person wrote on X. "We know you bowed to the forces that say you must hire based on skin color or protected class to win awards. Hire based on merit, not DEI bulls---."
"It is insane to think that some people think you'd have to experience a disaster to know it's a disaster or a disaster in the making," another person said.
Another X user joked, "Since conservatives are irrelevant, I guess Nolan is counting on every single leftist paying to see this movie 3 times so they can break even."
"We know it’s historically inaccurate, mistranslated, & had alternative motives to the original script… Why?" one person asked. "Bc you already confessed that much. So no, not irrelevant. Honest reaction to someone butchering a classic."
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Others have argued that Nolan had a point in his interview, with one user writing, "While I don't agree with some of the casting decisions, it's a 3 hour piece of art that none of us have watched yet. watch the film and then form an opinion."
Another referenced Nolan's "The Dark Knight," arguing, "People forgot how furious fans were when he cast Heath Ledger as the Joker. The internet literally rioted, saying a romance actor would ruin the franchise. Nolan trusts his vision over noise because he's proven them wrong before. Who remembers the 2006 forums?"
The movie, also starring Zendaya as Athena, Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Charlize Theron as Calypso and many other big stars, is set to premiere in theaters on Friday, July 17.