Christopher Nolan defends The Odyssey from historical accuracy criticism as toxic backlash to casting grows

Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan has defended his upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey amid an increasingly toxic backlash on social media.

Following the release of the film's trailers, much has been made of the apparent historical inaccuracies in both the dialogue (Tom Holland's character Telemachus saying that his 'dad' will return, which was particularly heavily criticised) and the armour worn by some of the characters (chiefly Benny Safdie's Agamemnon), with some noting that it more closely resembles the Batsuit worn in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

In response to the latter point, Nolan said in a Time magazine profile: "There are Mycenaean daggers that are blackened bronze. The theory is they probably could have blackened bronze in those days. You take bronze, you add more gold and silver to it and then use sulfur...

"With Agamemnon, Ellen [Mirojnick], our costume designer, is trying to communicate how elevated he is relative to everyone else. You do that through materials that would be very expensive."

Nolan compared his approach to The Odyssey with what he employed in making Interstellar.

"For Interstellar, you're looking at, 'What is the best speculation of the future?' When you're looking at the ancient past, it's actually the same thing," Nolan said. "'What is the best speculation and how can I use that to create a world?'

"Hopefully they'll enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything. We had a lot of scientists complain about Interstellar. But you just don't want people to think that you took it on frivolously."

The Odyssey stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and pretty much everyone else in Hollywood and is one of the year's most anticipated blockbusters.

However, it's not just the film's historical accuracy that has faced backlash online.

Following the reveal that Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o will be playing the dual roles of Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra in the upcoming epic, the discourse around the film has turned increasingly toxic.

The world's richest man Elon Musk and some conservative commentators have criticised the casting of acclaimed actress Nyong'o in the role of Helen of Troy as well as the casting of Elliot Page in the upcoming film. Page is speculated to play the spirit of the Greek hero Achilles.

Musk claimed on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that Nolan "wants the awards" when replying to a post that referenced the Oscars rules around diversity in prospective nominees, though, as Variety notes, those rules have little to do with casting.

It should also be noted that the characters depicted are mythological and are not inherently historical figures.

In regards to casting music star Travis Scott as a bard in the film, Nolan also told Time: "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."

Despite the discourse, the film looks poised to be a significant box office hit. Universal made the unprecedented decision to release pre-sale times for multiple 70mm IMAX screenings of the film a year before release – with screenings selling out within 12 hours of going on sale.

The Odyssey opens in cinemas on 17 July 2026.

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