Elon Musk claims Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' casting targets awards

Tesla's founder and X owner, Elon Musk, criticised director Christopher Nolan on Tuesday after he verified some varied casting selections for his retelling of the classic Greek myth, “The Odyssey.”

Nolan is renowned for his works like “Interstellar,” “The Dark Knight” series, “Oppenheimer,” and several other major hits. His forthcoming take on “The Odyssey” has stirred up online debates.

Though the tale revolves around ancient western civilisations, some commentators argue that Nolan's forthcoming version seems too contemporary, featuring Americanised speech patterns and diverse casting decisions.

Despite many circulating unconfirmed reports recently, a notable casting decision that Nolan acknowledged in a Time Magazine interview on Tuesday was that Lupita Nyong’o, a Kenyan-Mexican actress known for “Black Panther” and “12 Years a Slave,” will portray Helen of Troy. Helen is celebrated in mythology as the world's fairest woman, whose beauty sparked the Trojan War in Homer's epic.

Nyong’o will also take on the role of Helen’s sister, Clytemnestra, in the same film.

On X, a user pointed out that the Oscars now implement detailed diversity criteria. Musk concurred, commenting that Nolan “aims for the accolades.”

Previously, Musk criticised the casting of Helen of Troy back in January, stating “Chris Nolan has compromised his principles.”

Musk agreed with a conservative commentator who implied that Nolan would face accusations of racism if he cast the role to a Caucasian woman instead.

The Hollywood Reporter expressed shock over the American accents present in the trailer, noting, “Everyone sounds as if they hail from Ohio.”

Nolan further divulged to Time that the musician Travis Scott is set to portray a Greek bard. He justified this choice as a tribute to poetic heritage.

“I selected him because I wanted to honour the notion that this tale has been passed down through oral poetry, which is comparable to rap,” Nolan elaborated to Time Magazine.

“When I approach areas I suspect could ignite tension, he casually dismisses it, saying, ‘Fair point,’ and enthusiastically discusses production decisions that have stirred countless Reddit discussions,” the Time journalist reflected on his interview with Nolan.

“'The Odyssey' might be considered Nolan’s most ambitious film yet,” Time acclaimed. “It could well be the summer hit that the struggling showbiz sector dearly needs right now.”

“Nonetheless, the movie also carries an air of finality,” the interviewer remarked. “Nolan recognises that he frequently creates stories about intelligent men striving to reunite with their families. When I question whether the repetition of certain themes concerns him, he takes a moment before sighing.”

“Despite not owning a smartphone, the online world has found him,” the interviewer noted, recalling that Nolan remarked about the online reactions so far: “You have to embrace repetition if it’s suitable for the story.

Paying excessive attention to public feedback on your work could leave you immobilised.”

In the clips released to date, figures in Nolan’s retelling can be witnessed employing modern American English phrases such as “Let’s go” and “Daddy.”

One recent promo for the feature paired NBA star LeBron James and his son, presenting them as analogies to Odysseus and his son Telemachus, with LeBron dribbling a basketball and voicing over scenes from the film.

Some progressives have acknowledged this and countered conservative critiques of the movie ahead of its release. A Variety contributor scoffed at “literary elites,” objecting to the presence of non-white actors taking on traditionally white roles.

During a Thursday episode of “The View” addressing the debate, Whoopi Goldberg advised those displeased with the casting to consider not watching the film.

She also commented that Musk was “accepting of apartheid” during his upbringing in South Africa but quickly added she was unsure if he was “an apartheid advocate” and retracted the statement.

Co-host Sunny Hostin stated “racism often emerges in abhorrent forms” in the US and mentioned that scholars have examined the influence of ancient Egypt and North Africa on Greek mythology.