Christopher Nolan might have received backlash for his upcoming film, The Odyssey, but he remains unfazed. The star-studded adaptation of Homer's Greek Epic came under massive criticism from Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump's MAGA base over its casting choices.
Addressing the pre-release backlash, Nolan told The Telegraph that it "comes with the territory". He continued, “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.”
Christopher Nolan On The Odyssey Pre-Release Backlash
The director revealed that he expected strong reactions when he decided to adapt the Greek epic. He then drew parallels with the scrutiny he faced while directing The Dark Knight trilogy.
He said, “Remember, I spent 10 years of my life dealing with Batman. When I came on 'Begins', writers and artists had been working on this beloved character for almost 65 years, and a lot of freighted thoughts were out there about what he represents. And what I learnt over my time on that trilogy is you can't worry about any of that at all. What you have to do is honour the original text by interpreting it in the strongest way you personally can.”
Nolan continued, “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. 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.”
Elon Musk Criticises The Odyssey Casting Choice
Elon Musk has been one of the most vocal critics of the film. In February, the Tesla CEO strongly criticised Nolan's choice of casting Lupita Nyong'o in the role of Helen of Troy. On X, Musk wrote, “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity" and claimed Nolan only “wants the awards".
Chris Nolan has lost his integrity
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 31, 2026
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh wrote on X, “Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong'o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.' But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave ‘the most beautiful woman' role to a white woman. Nolan is technically talented but a coward.”
Criticism also erupted surrounding the armour design in the film, which many believed resembled Batman's more modern-looking Batsuit.
Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong'o is “the most beautiful woman in the world.” But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave “the most beautiful woman” role to a white woman. Nolan is technically talented but a coward. Too… pic.twitter.com/wwzF9RkrWI
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 12, 2026
Starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and others, The Odyssey is all set to hit the theatres on July 17.
