(Image Credit: Universal Studios)
Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey is setting up to be one of the biggest movies of the year, and is also one of the most anticipated. However, over the past week or so, backlash against the movie has been building up by a specific part of the internet. These complaints are largely directed towards the casting choices Nolan has made for a few of the roles in the upcoming epic adaptation.
Why are some fans upset about The Odyssey?
Over the past week or so, social media has been filled with accounts criticizing The Odyssey ever since its latest trailer came out. Following the release of the new look at the film, rumors began circulating about two specific actors: Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong’o.
For Page, rumors began circulating that he would be playing the ghost of Achilles, the mythological hero of the Trojan War who is recognized as one of the greatest Greek warriors ever. As for Nyong’o, criticism about her part in the movie began after it was revealed she would be playing Helen of Troy.
Helen of Troy & Achilles 2004 vs 2026: pic.twitter.com/SlVlrje12h— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 12, 2026
Since then, trolls across social media have largely been attacking the movie for its casting choices. While some are genuinely unhappy with historical inaccuracies, the large majority of complaints have essentially been deriding the movie as “woke,” with a large portion of criticism simply being based on Nyong’o’s race and the fact that Page is a trans man playing the role of a major figure in Greek mythology.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has also been a leading figure in the backlash, replying to various posts about the movie and seemingly agreeing that it is being performative in its casting.
Absolutely true. Such hypocrisy in Hollywood.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2026
The problem with these criticisms, though, is that, like most complaints of things being too “woke” or progressive, they don’t hold up under any sort of scrutiny.
The Odyssey’s backlash makes no sense for a number of reasons
For starters, it’s important to remember that The Odyssey, while steeped in Greek myth, is a made-up story. People like Achilles and Helen of Troy are fictional characters, and the story that The Odyssey tells is a fictional one, filled with monsters and gods galore. While purists argue that the movie doesn’t match the exact tone of Greek culture and life when the story was told, Nolan has already spoken about that.
Recently, the director explained his choice for some of the changes in the movie, noting that the way Homer told the story of The Odyssey featured depictions for the age he lived in, and not ones from when the story is told. To him, this is “a pretty strong case there for portraying things that way because that’s the way the first audience received the story.
As for the roles, much of the movie remains unknown, including how big of a role Page and Nyong’o will play. Much of the backlash from Page’s involvement stems from the unconfirmed rumor he’ll play Achilles’ spirit, but should that even be true, the version of Achilles Page will play is not meant to be the version that fans may know from other stories, making the complaints even more unfounded.
People online were quick to point to movies like 2004’s Troy as a stellar example of how to depict Greek figures (mainly due to the film starring Brad Pitt as Achilles and Diane Kruger as Helen). However, people seem to forget that the 2004 film is largely considered to be an awful adaptation of Homer’s Iliad, which it loosely is based on.
True https://t.co/vmZgPhV7Pz— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2026
Outside of “accuracy” arguments, a new complaint that’s popped up regarding the casting is that Nolan is simply doing it to try to win awards. A handful of posts on X have gone viral this past week, suggesting that Nolan only cast actors like Nyong’o and Page to fit criteria in order to be eligible to win Oscars, with Elon Musk even saying “he wants the awards” in reply to one post questioning the odds.
Much like the other arguments, this also falls apart when looked at more carefully. While the Oscars do have representation and inclusion standards for eligibility, there is nothing mandating that movies have certain groups of people appear in them to win awards. In fact, three of the last four Oscar winners for Best Picture (Oppenheimer, Anora, and CODA) all have majority white casts, and one of those movies was directed by Nolan himself, making this argument completely nonsensical.
In the end, what started as some genuine upset about historical inaccuracy in the upcoming The Odyssey adaptation has quickly turned into something transparently hateful in nature. Like many complaints about projects nowadays, much of the conversation has shifted from actual artistic merits to simply whether or not a movie should have diversity at all. As for The Odyssey, while many are hoping for the film’s failure, it would still be shocking to see. Nolan’s movies are historically incredibly successful, and this one may be no different, even if some folks aren’t happy with it.
Originally written by Anthony Nash at Coming Soon
