The controversy around Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey doesn’t seem to have an end. Following Elon Musk calling the director a “worm”, Lupita Nyong’o’s comments about Homer have sparked another round of online outrage. But are moviegoers just getting worked up over nothing?
Nyong’o has spent months dealing with criticism over her casting as Helen of Troy and her sister, Clytemnestra. And that was before anyone had even seen any footage of the actress in The Odyssey trailer. Upset fans even resorted to creating AI-generated videos mocking her appearance on social media, calling the casting “woke”.
Now, with the film’s premiere days away, two interview clips featuring Nyong’o have become the latest talking point. One comes from her press junket interview with YouTube channel DC Film Girl, where she was asked how Helen and Clytemnestra compare to other resilient women she’s portrayed throughout her career. Instead of talking about mythology, Nyong’o focused on what attracted her to Nolan’s version of the story. “What Chris is interested in this film is investigating the cost of war,” she explained. “When you read the Iliad and the Odyssey, very little time is spent in the perspective of the women. It’s told from a very masculine side of things. But this film takes time to really consider things from the female perspective.”
That’s not what some people online wanted to hear, of course. Taken on its own, it’s a fairly straightforward explanation of Nolan’s creative direction. The Iliad and The Odyssey have traditionally been told through the experiences of male heroes. Nyong’o wasn’t arguing that Homer got it wrong, but rather describing why Nolan chose to spend more time with female characters who often remain on the edge of the story.
A second clip has now also been shared online and caused a fuss. During Jake Hamilton’s Jake’s Takes interview, the cast was asked if Homer were sitting beside them in an IMAX theater watching the movie, what would they ask him?
Matt Damon joked that Homer would probably be amazed by IMAX itself. Nyong’o’s answer probably won’t calm angry fans. “So Homer, how do you feel about the screen time given to these women considering how little you spent with them?” she answered.
After Hamilton encouraged her, she playfully laughed and added, “Remember us?”
While it was clearly meant to be a joke, it wasn’t received that way online. Many saw it as a serious criticism of the ancient poet. And they took that very personally.
The clips began circulating as reports spread that The Odyssey‘s latest trailer had collected more than 500,000 dislikes online. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Clips from both interviews began spreading just as debate around the film reached another boiling point.
This isn’t the first time Nyong’o has addressed the criticism, of course. Speaking to Elle earlier this year, she made it clear she had no interest in arguing with strangers on the internet about her role in The Odyssey. “This is a mythological story. I’m very supportive of Chris’ intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling.”
“Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not,” she added.
Whether audiences agree with Nolan’s interpretation of Homer’s work is one discussion that’s happening online. Whether Lupita Nyong’o should play Helen and Clytemnestra is another. One thing nobody can question, however, is how epic this film is going to be, whether it’s historically accurate or not.
