Christopher Nolan's 'Odyssey' adaptation stirs backlash before release: 'Dying, immoral agenda'

Director Christopher Nolan's new film adaptation of "The Odyssey," which is slated for U.S. theatrical release on July 17, has already prompted a torrent of division and negative backlash for its casting, which some have framed as a modern affront to a foundational text of Western literature.

Based on Homer's ancient epic poem about Odysseus' long journey home after the Trojan War, Nolan's "The Odyssey" boasts a $250 million budget and has been described by early critics as "staggering" and a "must-see cinematic event," though its trailers have faced overwhelmingly negative viewer reactions online.

Footage of the film's Monday world premiere in London prompted particular scorn over transgender-identifying actress Elliot (Ellen) Page, who first came out as a lesbian in 2014 before announcing a transgender identity in 2020. Page was first rumored to be playing Achilles in the film, but later confirmed to be portraying Sinon, a deceptive Greek warrior from Virgil's Aeneid who encourages the Trojans to bring the Trojan Horse into their city to their ruin.

A Monday post on the movie's official X account, which shows Page at the London premiere wearing an ill-fitting brown suit and tie, drew more than 12 million views. Like all other posts on the film's X account, direct replies were disabled, though many quote-tweeted it to denounce the promotion of transgenderism and Page's unrealistic casting as a male Greek warrior.

Elliot Page at The Odyssey World Premiere in London. Experience it only in cinemas July 17. pic.twitter.com/VDskvHKQWv

— The Odyssey Movie (@odysseymovie) July 7, 2026

"If every post you make requires you to turn off comments, you're probably losing the PR battle," said Not the Bee, the news arm of The Babylon Bee.

"There should be some legal mechanism for nations to protect their cultural heritage from this kind of blatant vandalism," wrote Catholic commentator Jon Miller.

"The Odyssey movie account has turned off comments on all of their posts," wrote conservative Christian media personality Jon Root. "They know a woman (Ellen Page) playing a dude, race-swapping Helen of Troy (Lupita Nyong'o), & using the feminist retellings of the epic, are terrible, divisive decisions but they refuse to allow discourse about it."

Nolan's casting of Lupita Nyong'o, a black actress, to play Helen of Troy has also stirred outrage, with some accusing Nolan of racism against white women and culturally appropriating a character whom Homer described as "white-armed."

Nyong'o prompted a separate wave of backlash for speaking dismissively of Homer during a recent interview, claiming, "When you read the Iliad and the Odyssey, very little time is spent in the perspective of the women. It's all from a very masculine side of things. But this film takes time to really consider things from the female perspective."

When asked during another interview what she would say to the semi-legendary poet who died in the eighth century B.C., Nyong'o said, "I'd be like, 'So Homer, how do you feel about the screen time given to these women, considering how little you spent with them? ... Hmm? Remember us?'"

"What 1 thing would you say to Homer?"

Lupita Nyong'o (Helen Of Troy): "How do you feel about the screen time given to women?"

pic.twitter.com/nYHziBDuSp

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 6, 2026

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of "The Odyssey," and has been slamming Nolan for his casting choices since January.

"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," Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said in May, to which Musk replied: "True."

Replying on July 5 to an X post accusing Nolan of "bowing to a dying, immoral agenda," Musk wrote: "Chris Nolan desecrated Homer and groveled on his knees just to meet the woke rules required to win an Oscar. What a worm."

Nolan, whose films have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide, acknowledged during a recent interview with "Today" that he is "a little bit nervous" ahead of the film's release, saying, "We make films for the theatrical audience, and it's the audience who tells us what it is."