Christopher Nolan Explains THE ODYSSEY’s Controversial Armor and Why Travis Scott Belongs in the Film
There’s already a ton of conversation swirling around The Odyssey months before it hits theaters, and now Christopher Nolan is stepping in to address a couple of the internet’s favorite debate topics surrounding the movie.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker is taking on Homer’s legendary tale with a gigantic $250 million sword-and-sandals epic that sounds unlike anything studios regularly gamble on anymore.
The movie stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king fighting his way home through impossible odds after the Trojan War. Along the way, he’s trying to reunite with his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway.
The cast is massive, featuring Tom Holland as Telemachus, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Calypso, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, and Benny Safdie as Agamemnon.
The film also marks the first time Nolan has shot an entire movie using 70 mm IMAX cameras, which makes this feel like one of the biggest cinematic swings of his career.
But as early footage made their way online, fans immediately started picking apart the armor designs worn by some of the warriors. A lot of people compared the darker metallic look to Batman armor, questioning whether Nolan was drifting too far from historical authenticity.
Speaking with Time, Nolan explained there’s actual historical thinking behind the design choices:
“There are Mycenaean daggers that are blackened bronze. The theory is they probably could have blackened bronze in those days. You take bronze, you add more gold and silver to it and then use sulfur…
“With Agamemnon, Ellen [Mirojnick], our costume designer, is trying to communicate how elevated he is relative to everyone else. You do that through materials that would be very expensive.”
That same attention to detail apparently extends across the entire production. Nolan compared researching the ancient world for The Odyssey to the scientific deep dives he did while making Interstellar.
“For ‘Interstellar,’ you’re looking at, ‘What is the best speculation of the future?’ When you’re looking at the ancient past, it’s actually the same thing,” Nolan said. “‘What is the best speculation and how can I use that to create a world?’”
He also addressed one of the more unexpected casting choices in the film, rapper Travis Scott, whose appearance in the trailer definitely caught audiences off guard.
Scott is reportedly playing a bard, and Nolan actually had a pretty fascinating reason for bringing him into the project:
“I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.”
Honestly, that feels very on-brand for Nolan. Even when audiences argue over his choices, there’s usually a very specific train of thought guiding everything.
Nolan knows not everyone is going to agree with every creative decision he makes, but he also made it clear he isn’t throwing ideas into the movie randomly just to stir conversation.
“Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything. We had a lot of scientists complain about ‘Interstellar.’ But you just don’t want people to think that you took it on frivolously.”
Regardless, The Odyssey is the kind of massive theatrical event that people are going to flock to theaters to see.