The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of the ancient Greek epic, is set to be released in theaters on July 17. Promotion for this film has begun. A teaser trailer came out a few months ago, and now there’s also a short clip featuring LeBron James and his son, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr. While building hype, these videos also highlight issues in Nolan’s handling of gender in his films and raise concerns for his upcoming movie.
The Odyssey tells the tale of King Odysseus of Ithaca and his journey home after the Trojan War. Alongside the Iliad, this epic poem was composed between the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, though its origins as an oral tradition and the murky timeline of its story make it difficult to be certain of much. Even the author is unknown. While attributed to the famed blind poet Homer, historians are unsure if this text was written by one author or several contributors. Despite that, The Odyssey is one of the most important and popular ancient Greek texts.
Nolan’s film is the most recent in a long line of adaptations of The Odyssey. Due to the length and age of the poem, each iteration uniquely modernizes the tale by picking and choosing scenes. As such, it is impossible to determine the accuracy of Nolan’s movie or his chosen themes at this point. However, recent promotional materials allow mythology and movie fans to catch a glimpse of what is to come.
The first trailer for The Odyssey was released on Dec. 22, 2025. This clip provided the first look at the cast, costumes, and sets. Controversially, Nolan opted for color-blind casting, assembling a large cast without any Greek actors. Due to the nature of the story, the main character is a soldier king returning from war; there are few women in this cast. While accurate to The Odyssey in this instance, the lack of women is a trend in Nolan’s work. His filmography includes lauded movies, with eight Academy Award nominations and two wins, and a roster of famous actors. However, women routinely get lesser roles in his work, mainly uplifting the men around them instead of having their own journeys. His choice to adapt The Odyssey is especially concerning to me since almost every woman in the poem is a victim of abuse. I hope he can expand their stories beyond their traumas, but I’m not certain this can be accomplished without altering the epic’s significance.
The newest promo for this movie features LeBron and Bronny James with a voiceover atop previously released footage. This audio is certainly meant to be inspirational, but as I watched the video, I felt only anger at a complete misinterpretation of a beloved story. LeBron claims, “No legend worth watching took a straight and simple path. Nah, they chose challenges and changes every step of the way.” While potentially true when referring to his own athletic career, this statement does not make sense for Odysseus. The king famously pretended to be crazy so as not to be forced to fight in the Trojan War and was only convinced to do so when his son’s life was threatened. This refusal to embrace “challenges and changes” labeled him as a coward to some ancient Greeks.
The video attempts to create direct parallels between the success of the James family and the iconic story of the Odyssey; however, within any context, it seems distasteful. I understand that Odysseus is regarded as a hero — I promise I have read The Odyssey and adored the Wilson translation — but I also refuse to ignore the dozens of lives he takes. He murders 108 suitors who pursued his wife while he was gone and then has his son slaughter 12 slaves. These women allegedly consorted with the suitors, though their consent is unclear in the text and frankly unlikely due to their social positioning as slaves.
Knowing the awful actions of Odysseus and Telemachus, it is difficult for me to react positively to comparisons to these characters as if they are an aspirational representation of a father-son relationship. It saddens me that Nolan likely removed the extent of their violence in the film since this lessens Odysseus’ complexity while erasing the very real cultural norms of the ancient Greeks. Their understanding and treatment of women is different than the modern American perspective, but that is crucial to the story. Ultimately, I look forward to this film’s release as a revival of interest in Greek mythology, but I remain critical of its loyalty to The Odyssey and its consideration of history.