Christopher Nolan says the online backlash surrounding his upcoming film The Odyssey is ultimately irrelevant. The director, who won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars for Oppenheimer, addressed criticism over casting choices and the use of American accents and modern dialogue in the film's trailers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan spoke recently with The Telegraph about the controversy. "Comes with the territory," he told the publication. "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."
Nolan drew a direct comparison to his experience making the Dark Knight trilogy. "I spent 10 years of my life dealing with Batman," the 55-year-old said. "When I came on to Batman Begins, writers and artists had been working on this beloved character for almost 65 years, and a lot of freighted thoughts were out there about what he represents. And what I learnt over my time on that trilogy is you can't worry about any of that at all. What you have to do is honour the original text by interpreting it in the strongest way you personally can."
He also recalled skepticism before The Dark Knight specifically, after the late Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. At the time, Ledger was known primarily for romantic comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale. Ledger ultimately won a posthumous Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance.
"In the end, fans of the property — even when we were doing something that was not what they would have done — enjoyed the sincerity of the attempt to put as good a version of it on screen as we could," Nolan said. "So, when it comes to The Odyssey, all I can do is make the best film I possibly can in the most sincere way. It's very different from how anyone else would do it, but that's what adaptation is."
The casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy drew particular attention online. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh criticized the choice in posts on X, and Elon Musk replied to one of Walsh's posts in agreement. Musk also interacted with posts mocking Elliot Page's casting as Sinon.
On the question of modern dialogue, Nolan addressed the decision in a separate interview with Channel 4 News. "When you look at the ancient world, people tend to view the ancient world in weird ways and there's a lot of cultural prejudice — elevating it just because it's old," he said. "When you go to the poem, what you find is something that's really earthy, grounded and accessible. So, for me, in building the world of the film, what I talk to all the actors about is, I want to center it on that and make it feel very fresh for modern audiences and do away with some of those assumptions."
The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus. Early reactions have called the film a crowning achievement for Nolan, though the director himself has been careful to note that pre-release buzz should be taken with a grain of salt. Nolan is coming off Oppenheimer, which won Best Picture and earned him his first Best Director nomination and win. He had previously been overlooked for films including The Dark Knight and Inception, and received his first Best Director nomination for Dunkirk in 2017.
While The Odyssey builds anticipation, one of Nolan's earlier films is quietly disappearing from streaming. The Prestige, which Nolan made between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, is set to leave Peacock in August 2026. The film starred Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall. It received strong reviews on release and has since grown into one of his most celebrated works among fans.