Christopher Nolan talks ‘The Odyssey’ and says Homer was “the Marvel of its day”
Christopher Nolan has claimed that Homer was “the Marvel of its day” ahead of his epic film adaptation of The Odyssey hitting cinemas this summer.
The Oscar-winning director was speaking during a new interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which he opened up about creating the massive movie and the process of bringing the ancient literature text to the screen.
Heaping praise on the all-star cast, which includes Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, Colbert pointed out that what many of the actors have in common is starring in major superhero franchises over the years.
Nolan also embraced this comparison, noting that classic Greek texts were “the original superheroes,” before adding, “I mean, even comic book culture, whether you’re talking about Marvel, or DC, or all the rest, a lot of it comes pretty directly from the Homer epics.”
Going on to deepen his explanation of how Homer permeates into the superhero canon of Hollywood, Nolan continued: “The thing about Homer is it’s the Marvel of its day. I think there’s very directly this desire for us to feel or believe that gods could walk amongst us. And I think the modern comic book is kind of our expression of that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, an exclusive glimpse of a new trailer for The Odyssey was also shared, with audiences getting to see the first shots of Pattinson’s character Antinous, as well as Charlize Theron’s Circe, in action.
In the trailer, Pattinson’s character attempts to woo Hathaway’s beautiful Penelope; as Odysseus’ son Telemachus, played by Holland, fights to resist the threats to the throne, Antinous tells him cuttingly, “You’re pining for a daddy you didn’t even know, like some snivelling bastard.”
Aside from these exciting initial insights into the action, the rest of the stellar cast is rounded out by Travis Scott, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, and Mia Goth.
With tickets for the IMAX epic having gone on sale a year in advance, The Odyssey is finally set to be released in cinemas on July 17th, 2026.
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