A bunch of right-wing commentators and film buffs are in a downright tizzy over the cast of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and it’s equal parts hilarious and terrifying to watch.
ICYMI, Nolan is helming a movie adaptation of the Greek myth with an all-star cast including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Anne Hathaway.
We got a trailer for The Odyssey earlier this month along with a bunch of casting additions including Lupita Nyong’o and Elliot Page — which is unfortunately where the backlash comes in.
Despite crying “snowflake” at every turn, a few very loud conservative voices have gotten their knickers in a twist over Nyong’o and Page’s casting, on the supposed basis of historical accuracy and the ongoing ‘anti-woke’ crusade.
In other words, the casting additions have prompted a similar right-wing reaction to whenever a company changes its logo for Pride Month or a drag queen reads to kids: THE END OF THE F**KING WORLD.
Why is there backlash over The Odyssey cast?
Backlash over Nyong’o’s casting began almost immediately after Nolan revealed she will be portraying Helen of Troy in The Odyssey. The character is typically depicted as being of Mediterranean ancestry, and Nolan’s decision to race-swap Helen of Troy for his take on the myth was fiercely debated on social media.
If you’re not across the Grecian lore (it came out ages ago, so you’re forgiven), Helen of Troy is known in mythology as the world’s most beautiful woman, and she is the reason why the Trojan War, which comes before the events of The Odyssey, kicked off in the first place.
While Nyong’o was subject to historical accuracy backlash by film bros who no-doubt gave Braveheart five stars, Page copped the brunt of comments claiming The Odyssey had ‘gone woke’.
Page — whose role in The Odyssey is unconfirmed but rumoured to be that of Elpenor — is a trans man who has been open about his gender identity since coming out in 2020. Page’s casting in The Odyssey led some onlookers to claim Nolan was merely ticking a diversity box or aligning with ‘wokeness’ by enlisting Page in the cast.
What did Elon Musk say about The Odyssey cast?
The loudest voice in The Odyssey casting backlash was billionaire and X owner Elon Musk, who shared a series of social media posts accusing Nolan of pandering to awards bodies by hiring a diverse cast for the movie.
“He wants the awards,” Musk wrote on X, while saying in another message that Nolan “lost his integrity” by casting Nyong’o.
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In another post, Musk agreed with a user who wrote that Nolan “would be called racist if he gave ‘the most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman”, while a fourth saw him question which “a**hole” added diversity “lies to Academy Awards eligibility instead of it just being about making the best movie?”.
In his biggest tizzy, Musk co-signed a user who said The Odyssey casting updates were an example of “the left want[ing] to destroy western civilisation and everything that helped create it”.
Others might argue that billionaires buddying up with presidents is a sure-fire way to destroy civilisation, but I digress!
What has Christopher Nolan said about The Odyssey casting ?
Nolan addressed the casting backlash when responding to criticism over rapper Travis Scott, who was confirmed to be playing a small role in The Odyssey. Nolan defended that decision, which some said was anachronistic, in a recent interview with Time Magazine.
“I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that [The Odyssey] has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap,” Nolan explained.
The director went on to admit more broadly that not everyone will be satisfied with his interpretation of the material, saying he copped similar backlash over Interstellar.
“Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything,” Nolan said. “We had a lot of scientists complain about Interstellar, but you just don’t want people to think that you took it on frivolously,” he added.
So, what now?
Nyong’o and Page have not yet responded to Musk’s comments or the broader right-wing freak out over their casting, and with The Odyssey now in post-production, it’s (thankfully) unlikely that their efforts will impact the film’s ensemble.
It’s unfortunately not the first time a remake has been accused of ‘going woke’, with both Rachel Zegler and Halle Bailey copping some truly awful discourse about their roles in Snow White and The Little Mermaid, respectively.
This time, the backlash has been boosted by a billionaire and has caught the ire of a very specific type of film bro, but if all goes according to plan, Page and Nyong’o will hopefully steal the show when The Odyssey lands in Aussie cinemas in July.
Lead images: Getty Images and Elon Musk/X
