Nolan calls Odyssey backlash "irrelevant" — Batman prepared him for it

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After months of chatter from certain corners of the internet, Christopher Nolan is just days away from bringing The Odyssey to theaters, but he doesn't seem to be too bothered by what he called the "irrelevant" backlash.

The director's adaptation of Homer's epic poem has faced resistance from online camps led by conservative figureheads like podcaster Matt Walsh and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Most of the talking points in this regard have revolved around casting decisions, including Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy/Clytemnestra and Elliot Page as Sinon , while others have homed in on its armor designs and modern English dialogue .

On the other side are those who feel much of the backlash boils down to thinly veiled racism and transphobia masquerading as calls for "historical accuracy." Either way, The Odyssey's detractors have been distractingly loud, flooding social media with criticism while allegedly swarming trailers with hundreds of thousands of "dislikes." Nolan, however, hasn't lost a wink of sleep.

"Comes with the territory," he said with a smile when The Telegraph asked for his reaction. "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 expected The Odyssey, specifically, to become a talking point online. Although which elements of the film he expected to catch fire online is unclear, it doesn't sound like he was ever too worried. He added, "but remember, I spent 10 years of my life dealing with Batman," referencing his work as director for The Dark Knight trilogy.

"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," Nolan continued. "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."

The Telegraph pointed to The Dark Knight and the decision to cast Heath Ledger as the Joker as another decision that was initially picked apart by skeptical fans. We all know how that turned out .

"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.

He continued: "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."

All 2 hours and 53 minutes of The Odyssey will set sail when it comes to theaters July 17, 2026. In addition to its star-studded cast, fans can expect a film that Nolan says he crafted to "do away" with "cultural prejudices" about the ancient world . It will also feature an enormous practical Cyclops .

For more, you can read about what Nolan had to say about "AI slop." You can also catch up on his recent thoughts regarding what mainstream movies need to succeed .

Photo by Aalok Soni/Getty Images for Universal Pictures.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).