Lupita Nyong’o and Travis Scott are catching heat for their roles in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming “The Odyssey,” but the legendary director isn’t backing down from his casting decisions.
The backlash has been intense since the film’s announcement, with everyone from Elon Musk to conservative commentator Matt Walsh taking shots at Nolan’s choices. Nyong’o’s playing Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra in a dual role that’s sparked the most controversy. Musk claimed Nolan “wants the awards” and accused him of race-swapping characters to chase Oscar eligibility.
Walsh went harder, saying “not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is the most beautiful woman in the world” and calling Nolan a “coward” for the casting. Nolan told The Telegraph that these early conversations are “irrelevant” because nobody criticizing the film has actually seen it yet.
“Comes with the territory,” he said. “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.”
The director delved deeper into his reasoning, drawing on his decade-long experience with the Batman trilogy. The film’s official social media accounts have restricted comments as the backlash intensified online. The ensemble cast includes Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Charlize Theron, and Elliot Page as Greek soldier Sinon. The film’s ambitious scope reflects Nolan’s commitment to bringing one of literature’s greatest stories to the screen with his own vision intact.
“The Odyssey” hits theaters July 17, and Nolan’s already made it clear he’s not changing anything based on pre-release noise.