Iliad & Odyssey is one of the most well known stories of Greek myths. It's so well known that some people believe it actually happened. Odyssey has become a term for a long travel and Achilles' heel has become an actual medical term. It always has a lot of risks when such iconic telling's are being brought to life.
The Odyssey is a movie coming in July of 2026. It's being directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie is based on the book Odyssey written by Homer in ancient Greek. It's about the travels of Odysseus after the Trojan war happened in the Iliad. I also want to say that my thoughts are not judgmental to any of the actors or film makers. I'm just pointing out what could've been done better.
The cast
The actor who's playing Odysseus is Matt Damon. I can not stress it enough how I think he's a bad choice. He does not look like he fits into the time of ancient Greece. I love his acting in movies like Ocean's eleven or Good Will Hunting yet I will not for he life of me see him as Odysseus. Odysseus is supposed to be witty and smart yet Matt Damon does not have that quality. Don't get me wrong I am not calling him dumb. I'm just saying he does not look like Odysseus kind of smart. Odysseus is one of a kind. And perhaps they could've casted someone not so popular.
The rest of the cast is just famous Hollywood actors thrown together. Tom Holland is playing Telemachus who is Odysseus' son. Tom Holland is one of the best actors in his generation, but he looks too British and too modern to play in a film located in ancient Greece.
It's said to be Anne Hathaway who's casted as Penelope the wife of Odysseus. It's a good casting overall but I do not like the fact that she also does not look like an ancient Greek. I'm also concerned for the lack of Greek actors in the cast. From what I found there are none. We saw in the movie Apocalypto how it's possible to make a good Hollywood movie and make it time accurate and culture accurate.
Next problem I have with casting is that many believe that Zendaya is playing Athena. In acting and personality vice I see it. But after hours and hours of reading about the Greek mythology I don't think she looks the part. Athena is the goddess of wisdom and war. I would expect her actress to be strong. Zendaya is gorgeous and I would see her play some other goddess like Persephone or Aphrodite, even Circe for that matter. She's just not Athena.
The rest of the cast are: Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo, Corey Hawkins, Shiloh Fernandez, Samantha Morton, Will Yun Lee, Lupita Nyong'o, Cosmo Jarvis, Ryan Hurst, Rafi Gavron, Josh Stewart and Nick E. Tarabay. I'm only saying this once, I only see like two or three people who fit for a movie about Greek mythology. It does not take away from them and it's nothing personal. Perhaps for another movies.
The wardrobe
If you've read Iliad & Odyssey you would know that Homer talked a lot about Odysseus' purple cape. Yet in the picture below of Matt Damon's first look it is far from purple. Odysseus is a prince. His armor would be made of gold. It's not at all historically accurate. Even if the book is fictional Mycenaean people were and are not. Hollywood tends to make everything colorful into grey. I don't see at all why they couldn't have made it even a little bit historically accurate
In the middle you'll see an actual historical version of Mycenaean armor. It may not look aesthetically pleasing but they could've modified it to look even moderately accurate. Odysseus is a prince. He's supposed to be fancy.
The picture on the right is a behind the scenes picture. My question is why is Telemachus (Tom Holland), a prince, wearing so cheap looking armor. He looks handsome but does not look like a prince in that outfit. Far less a Mycenaean prince. I just feel like the costume designer should've done some research and not just think of clothes that a soldier would wear.
Other words
Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors. His Oppenheimer was truly incredible. I still don't think whatever's happening to the Odyssey movie is right. I would trust him to make an amazing movie about it but to this point it's just been lazy. And as much as I love the actors they are not well chosen. Zendaya and Tom Holland in the same movie is a dream come true, but it's hard to ignore everything problematic about the movie. Think of it this way: it's a movie about a persons culture, yet most of the culture is wrong. The epic poems are one of the oldest writings in the world that's found yet it's not being done service.
We already saw what happened to the movie Troy starring Brad Pitt. It was awful. The writing was off, it didn't deliver the true message and it ignored all of the gods in the story.
I truly wish that what I've found out the Odyssey movie is only bad because they're not showing more. And I hope that the things seen are only the few problems. It may become a good movie for someone who doesn't know the history and mythology. I do know. I don't see why I would enjoy the movie when I can already see so many problems with it with only seeing the cast and two outfits.
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