Christopher Nolan defends casting of Travis Scott in ‘The Odyssey’

Christopher Nolan has defended his decision to cast rapper Travis Scott in his upcoming epic The Odyssey, revealing that the choice was rooted in the ancient story’s origins as oral poetry.

Scott, 35, appears in early promotional material for the film as a bard — a traditional storyteller who recites poetic accounts of heroic events. The rapper previously collaborated with Nolan on Tenet (2020), for which he contributed the track “The Plan.”

Speaking in a TIME magazine profile published May 12, Nolan, 55, said the casting was intentional and thematic.

“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 explained.

In early TV spots for the film, Scott’s bard character appears to narrate key moments from the Trojan War, the legendary conflict central to Homer’s ancient epic. However, the rapper has not yet appeared in any official trailers released so far.

The Odyssey is based on Homer’s classical Greek poem, widely believed to have been preserved through generations of spoken storytelling before being written down.

The film features a large ensemble cast, including Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, and Anne Hathaway as Penelope. It also stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and others.

Nolan also confirmed in the interview that Lupita Nyong'o will take on a dual role as Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra.

Matt Damon, speaking to TIME, praised Nolan’s approach to the adaptation, noting that the filmmaker remained faithful to Homer while reinterpreting its themes for a modern audience.

“He’s very faithful to Homer because that’s not somebody you rewrite,” Damon said. “But thematically, what he looked at was really interesting.”

The Odyssey is scheduled to hit theaters on July 17.