{"id":2042,"date":"2026-07-09T01:58:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=2042"},"modified":"2026-07-09T01:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:58:29","slug":"the-odyssey-online-reactions-and-backlash-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=2042","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Odyssey&#8217; online reactions and backlash, explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<p>Christopher Nolan&#8217;s <em>The Odyssey<\/em> has finally completed its first voyage in front of critics, and the early reaction is basically: find the biggest screen near you.<\/p>\n<p>The first social reactions to Nolan&#8217;s adaptation of Homer&#8217;s epic arrived after the film&#8217;s London world premiere and early press screenings. <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/entertainment\/the-odyssey-trailer-zendaya-athena\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\">The movie<\/a>, shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, opens in theaters July 17.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/imPatrickT\/status\/2074244496775328207\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jacobkleinman\/status\/2074244496431448077\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Eccy_reviews\/status\/2074256881866957043\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That last part is not just marketing copy. <em>The Odyssey<\/em> is the first feature film shot entirely with IMAX cameras, and <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/christopher-nolan-wins-best-director-oscars-2024\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\">Nolan<\/a>&#8216;s commitment to scale appears to be a major part of the early conversation. The nearly three-hour film was shot across six countries, including Morocco, Greece, and Iceland, with real ships, practical effects, and large-scale crowd scenes. Matt Damon, who stars as Odysseus, called the experience <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DEADLINE\/status\/2074210717343854745\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">&#8220;much harder than anything I&#8217;ve ever done.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/imPatrickT\/status\/2073954183082815778\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrianLongFilms\/status\/2074244506929819719\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The movie follows Odysseus after the Trojan War as he tries to return home to Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and their son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). Along the way, because this is <em>The Odyssey<\/em>, there are gods, monsters, witches, temptation, punishment, and the kind of journey that has been tormenting high school English students for generations. <\/p>\n<p>Zendaya plays Athena, while the stacked ensemble also includes Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong\u2019o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, and Benny Safdie.<\/p>\n<p>Early reactions suggest Nolan has leaned fully into both the myth and the machinery needed to make it feel enormous, with the cast matching the scale around them. Holland, Damon, Hathaway, Leguizamo, Pattinson, and Nyong\u2019o have all received praise for their performances. <\/p>\n<section x-data=\"window.newsletter({ isDeal: false })\" x-init=\"init()\" aria-label=\"Newsletter Sign-Up\" class=\"relative invisible my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl md:my-16 ziff-component accent-cut-for-gradient-bg accent-cut-border-for-gradient-bg bg-gradient-fuchsia-secondary p-[2px]\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"text-gradient-fuchsia-secondary\">Mashable Trend Report<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheDCTVshow\/status\/2074267736239186023\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/x0Starlight\/status\/2074248846046069233\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/effoff1988\/status\/2074415274401341799\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NickdeSemlyen\/status\/2074267109614371240\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Eccy_reviews\/status\/2074256881866957043\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For movie lovers online, the first reactions are exactly what they were hoping to hear.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StephenSeanFord\/status\/2074272958709932239\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bigllittlelies\/status\/2074253288027930769\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/filmlver\/status\/2074249652677808369\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/harvv\/status\/2074248211133301072\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GigatronusPrime\/status\/2074278997697900628\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Not every reaction around <em>The Odyssey<\/em> has been glowing. Before the first critical reactions arrived, Nolan&#8217;s film had already become the latest blockbuster pulled into an online fight over casting, historical accuracy, and what counts as loyalty to a centuries-old text.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the backlash has focused on the film&#8217;s ensemble, including Lupita Nyong&#8217;o as Helen of Troy, Elliot Page as Sinon, Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, and Travis Scott as a bard. Right-wing commentators have accused Nolan of modernizing the story too aggressively, with Elon Musk repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/elon-musk-tom-holland-the-odyssey-online-feud-christopher-nolan-2026-7\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">criticizing the film&#8217;s casting<\/a> and claiming Nolan had &#8220;desecrated&#8221; Homer&#8217;s epic to appeal to awards voters, prompting <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/holland_tom\/status\/2074736733292273874\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">a response<\/a> from Tom Holland (the historian, not the actor).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/2073947047942631656\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Other complaints have been about the film&#8217;s look and language, including costumes some viewers called anachronistic, American accents, and Holland&#8217;s Telemachus referring to Odysseus as his &#8220;dad.&#8221; Nyong&#8217;o, for her part, has defended Nolan&#8217;s approach, stating she supports &#8220;the version of this story that he is telling&#8221; and that the cast is &#8220;representative of the world&#8221; in a <a href=\"https:\/\/Nyong%E2%80%99o,%20for%20her%20part,%20has%20defended%20Nolan%E2%80%99s%20approach,%20stating%20she%20supports%20%E2%80%9Cthe%20version%20of%20this%20story%20that%20he%20is%20telling%E2%80%9D%20and%20that%20the%20cast%20is%20%E2%80%9Crepresentative%20of%20the%20world\" in=\"\" a=\"\" recent=\"\" interview.=\"\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">recent interview.<\/a> Notably, Nolan has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.empireonline.com\/movies\/news\/the-odyssey-firstlooks-at-tom-holland-anne-hathaway-and-mia-goth-and-tom-holland-in-christopher-nolans-epic-cno\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">cited<\/a> Emily Wilson&#8217;s more modern 2017 translation of the Greek epic as one of his many inspirations. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/R0npz\/status\/2073260146957189137\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/London_Lou\/status\/2074254879485215152\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wendybyrde00\/status\/2073798559166517313\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/culkinco\/status\/2074277215320338895\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitterEmbed twitter-tweet\"><p>\n    <a class=\"text-gray-600\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kevinnbass\/status\/2074512160269463751\" title=\"(Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new window)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>All of this buzz, both good and bad, arrives with unusually high expectations. <em>The Odyssey<\/em> is Nolan&#8217;s follow-up to <em>Oppenheimer<\/em>, the 2023 blockbuster that won Best Picture and turned a talky, three-hour biographical drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer into a genuine pop-cultural event (<a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/barbenheimer-memes-barbie-oppenheimer-release\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\">with a little help from <em>Barbie<\/em><\/a>). <em>The Odyssey<\/em> cost $250 million to make, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/paultassi\/2026\/07\/08\/will-the-odyssey-flop-heres-christopher-nolans-box-office-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">box office forecasters<\/a> expect it to open between $80 million and $130 million in the U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n<p>The hype has been building for a while. Select IMAX tickets went on sale a year in advance and were snapped up quickly. Now that the first reactions are out, the message from critics and film journalists is fairly consistent: This is not the movie to casually half-watch later on a laptop while answering emails.<\/p>\n<p>Odysseus may be trying to get home, but we&#8217;ll be trekking toward the nearest IMAX.<\/p>\n<section class=\"mx-auto max-w-7xl\">\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christopher Nolan&#8217;s The Odyssey has finally completed its first voyage in front of critics, and the early reaction is basically: find the biggest screen near you. The first social reactions to Nolan&#8217;s adaptation of Homer&#8217;s epic arrived after the film&#8217;s London world premiere and early press screenings. The movie, shot entirely with IMAX film cameras,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/054YvRv2tBSmhyeE4XnoqRK\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1783531781.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}