'The Odyssey': Christopher Nolan calls casting backlash 'irrelevant'
What's the story
Christopher Nolan has defended his casting choices for his upcoming epic adaptation of The Odyssey. His comments come after criticism from several quarters, including Elon Musk and Matt Walsh, over Oscar-winning Black actor Lupita Nyong'o's dual role as Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra. In an interview with The Telegraph, Nolan said that such online discourse "comes with the territory" of adapting a major piece of intellectual property (IP).
Sincerity in adaptation
Fans appreciated sincerity of my attempt: Nolan
Nolan said, "These conversations that happen before people see the film...they're always irrelevant, because no one...knows what the film is yet." "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," he said. "All I can do is make the best film I possibly can in the most sincere way."
Past experiences
Can't worry about that at all, says Nolan
Drawing a parallel between the backlash over The Odyssey and his earlier work on the Batman trilogy, Nolan said, "But remember, I spent 10 years of my life dealing with Batman." "When I came on to Batman Begins, writers and artists had been working on this beloved character for almost 65 years... And what I learned over my time on that trilogy is you can't worry about any of that at all."
Cast response
Nyong'o has dismissed the backlash
Nyong'o has also dismissed the backlash, emphasizing that they're adapting "a mythological story," despite many treating the text as a historical record. "Our cast is representative of the world," she told Elle. "I'm not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not." Others have also criticized Nolan for casting Black musician Travis Scott as a bard and trans actor Elliot Page as Greek soldier Sinon.
Film details
About 'The Odyssey'
An adaptation of one of the first stories in human history, The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) through his decade-long journey home to his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) after the Trojan War. The film also stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, and Bill Irwin, among others. It will release on July 17.