As the release of his epic adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey‘ gets closer, Christopher Nolan has finally spoken out about the online criticism over his casting choices. People have been upset about his decision to cast Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as the Greek soldier Sinon.
In a new interview with The Telegraph, the Oscar-winning director dismissed all the pre-release talk as meaningless. He said that judging a film before seeing it just does not make sense.
Elon Musk and Critics Slam Christopher Nolan’s Diversity Casting Choices
“Comes with the territory,” Nolan stated when asked about the controversy. Some people have accused the film of being “woke,” and even Elon Musk has weighed in with his opinions. The director, however, set the record straight, saying, “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.”
The backlash has been building for months and got worse after the trailers came out. They have reportedly gotten over 600,000 dislikes on YouTube. Most of the criticism is about two main casting choices. Nyong’o, who is Kenyan-Mexican, is playing Helen of Troy, a character who in the old myths is described as having “white arms.” And Page, who is transgender, is playing the Ithacan warrior Sinon.
Musk used X to say that Nolan “has lost his integrity” and suggested the director was just trying to meet diversity requirements for awards. Other people have complained that no actors with Greek or Mediterranean backgrounds were cast in the lead roles.
Christopher Nolan Defends His Vision by Comparing ‘The Odyssey’ to ‘Interstellar‘
But Nolan has a simple answer to all of this. The film is based on a myth, not on real history. He compared it to his work on ‘Interstellar‘, where he used scientific speculation to build a believable world. “When you’re looking at the ancient past, it’s actually the same thing. What is the best speculation, and how can I use that to create a world?” he explained to Time magazine.
In case you missed it: Tom Holland Kept His Biggest ‘The Odyssey’ Secret From His Mom Until the Premiere
He also talked about the more unusual choice of casting rapper Travis Scott as a bard. Nolan said it was a deliberate nod to the oral tradition of poetry that the epic came from. “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,” Nolan told Time.
Lupita Nyong’o Speaks Out on Beauty, Criticism, and the Epic Narrative
Nyong’o has also handled the situation with a lot of grace. She agreed with what Nolan has been saying. “I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not,” she told Elle magazine.
When asked about playing a character known for her beauty, she turned the discussion around. “You can’t perform beauty. I want to know who a character is. What is beyond beauty? What is beyond looks?” She also stood firmly behind Nolan’s vision and added, “It’s quite something to be a part of The Odyssey, because it is so grand. It spans worlds. So that’s why the cast is what it is. We’re occupying the epic narrative of our time.“
Christopher Nolan Trusts His Sincerity Over Online Opinion as Release Date Nears
Nolan, who is known for being very careful in his work and who does not even own a smartphone, said he learned from his Dark Knight movies. He pointed out that people also questioned the casting of Heath Ledger as the Joker at first. “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,” he said. He believes that a filmmaker just has to focus on being sincere and not pay attention to what people say online.
“All I can do is make the best film I possibly can in the most sincere way,” Nolan told The Telegraph. “It’s very different from how anyone else would do it, but that’s what adaptation is.” The film is set to come out in IMAX theaters on July 17, and Nolan seems sure that the movie itself will be what really matters in the end.
You might also want to read: “You Can’t Perform Beauty”: Lupita Nyong’o Shuts Down Helen of Troy Controversy After Elon Musk Calls Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ “Desecrated”
