Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
2026 is a colossal one for movies, and while the end of the year is sure to be dominated by Dunesday (Dune: Part Three versus Avengers: Doomsday), the midpoint belongs to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
Known for delivering the stellar Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Oppenheimer, and more, Nolan's Oscar-winning catalog is unparalleled among modern directors. Although there have been numerous adaptations of Homer's The Odyssey, bringing the 24 books to life on the silver screen is no easy feat. Still, with Nolan at the helm and an all-star cast of Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and more, The Odyssey is already getting plenty of Academy Award buzz.
Unfortunately, there's also a vocal minority that's called out Nolan for 'historical inaccuracy'.
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This started with complaints that The Odyssey wasn't using Late Bronze Age Mycenaean gear, but has since grown to include the cast. Some have taken issue with Lupita Nyong'o's casting as Helen of Troy, especially after Diane Kruger played her in 2004's Troy. Others aren't a fan of Zendaya playing Athena, while some have slammed Elliot Page's casting as a transgender actor.
Nolan has been branded a racist by Elon Musk, with angry critics calling the whole thing 'woke'.
For those who don't want to watch The Odyssey, there's an alternative in the form of Odysseus: The Fall. The AI rival comes from film studio Fountain 0 and director Ash Koosha. As reported by Variety, Koosha released Dreams of Violets, an AI-generated docu-drama about the recent protests in Iran.
This is the only way you’ll get me to watch it: pic.twitter.com/ooTmaYajGG
— ET Reacts (@ET_Reacts) July 14, 2026
When Variety wrote about Odysseus: The Fall, it soon felt the wrath of AI critics on X. One disgruntled film fan wrote: "Why the f**k would you even write an article about this tripe?"
Another added: "Yay great, now the incels who were crashing out over Nolan's Odyssey have this to watch, while the rest of us, normal people, get to enjoy a real movie."
A third vented: "Could you f**ks stop post about AI slop for the love of god."
We'll admit that there were a few in the comments who cheered this as an alternative to Nolan's epic, but in a case of Variety clearly not reading the room, the majority were against the idea that one of Hollywood's greats should have to contend with an AI rival.
Nolan himself has made his feelings on AI clear in a scathing takedown with The Telegraph. As well as admitting he doesn't own a smartphone because he thinks he'd be addicted, he discussed the evolution of AI and mused: "I’ve never seen a more rapid wholesale dismissal of a supposedly foundational jump in technology in my lifetime. So much energy has been expended on bringing in AI, but if you look at that generation’s reaction, they’re utterly rejecting it."
The director says his own four children have turned their backs on 'AI slop', adding that there's a "renewed interest in more tactile, more real forms of storytelling."
AI retellings of Homer's The Odyssey aren't just appearing on cinema screens, with similar backlash to an AI clone of Michael Caine (with his approval) reading the poem for a new audiobook.
Love or loathe the idea of Nolan's version, it appears to be the only one that isn't using AI right now.
