Everyone’s Talking About The Odyssey—Here’s Why an Ancient Greek Story Is Surprisingly Relevant Right Now

It’s hard to believe, but the buzziest movie of the summer—one that already has blockbuster written all over it—is based on a 3,000-year-old Greek poem called The Odyssey. You may have read Homer’s 12,000-line epic in high school, but if you haven’t given one thought since then to the saga of Odysseus and his return from the Trojan War (understandable!), this film will refresh your memory and spark tons of conversation on your social media feed.

Christopher Nolan, the genius director behind Oppenheimer, Inception and The Dark Knight (though my personal favorite is Memento), has been plotting his version of Odysseus’s struggle to return home for more than 20 years. And with a budget of $250 million, an all-star lineup and more than 2 million feet of film shot, his opus is shaping up to be quite the homecoming party.

If you’re scratching your head right now—like, are we really trying to make an ancient poem happen? In 2026?—I get it. But you’re not going to want to miss this boat, because literally everyone is talking about The Odyssey. And the chatter is transcending the typical buzz from a big action flick or click-baity summer release. This will undoubtedly be an Oscar contender, sure, but The Odyssey is more than that. Way more. In fact, this tale of an unlikely hero battling the forces of nature, the gods and his enemies is a timeless story relevant to anyone who has faced long odds … and that includes all of us right now. Yes, in 2026.

So what do you need to know about the hottest movie ticket around? The Odyssey comes out July 17, and we scoured the web for hot takes, helpful background info and buzzy debates to help you understand why this epic just might be, well, epic. Read on for all the details before you head to the theater.

Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more entertainment, trends, humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.

What it is

The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus (Matt Damon), a king who left his home on the Greek island of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. We meet Odysseus after the war, as he’s trying to return home to his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). Along the way, he faces a series of trials and tribulations—not to mention gods, monsters and otherworldly creatures—that test his mental and physical strength, his philosophy and his life choices.

While this isn’t the first attempt to translate the poem into film, it is the most ambitious. “As a filmmaker, you’re looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before,” Nolan said about why he wanted to tackle The Odyssey. He had grown up with films like 1981’s Clash of the Titans—a delightfully cheesy telling of the Greek myth of Perseus (and the origin of the now-ubiquitous “Release the Kraken!” catchphrase)—but knew the genre needed a revamp.

“I’d never seen that done with the sort of weight and credibility that an A-budget and a big Hollywood, IMAX production could do,” he explained. Well, The Odyssey definitely has big-name backing now, and it’s the first feature film to be shot entirely on IMAX 1570 cameras.

Who it’s for

Almost everyone. Nolan describes The Odyssey as part coming-of-age story and part homecoming tale, and who can’t relate to that? He told the Associated Press that it’s for people who know everything about The Odyssey—and those who know nothing at all. “We’re making the film for that whole range of people’s relationships with this foundational text of this incredible story.”

A quick note for the parents out there: The Odyssey is rated R for language and violence, so take that into consideration before bringing your littlest ones. And with a run time of 172 minutes (nearly 3 hours), this epic is also epically long, so people looking for a 90-minute rom-com should probably steer clear.

Why it’s such a big deal

It’s the biggest movie event of the year, that’s why! It’s also a fantastic chance to dive into the source material of so many of our pop-culture favorites, from The Wizard of Oz to Star Trek to Game of Thrones. Yep, these modern stories of wanderers and seekers are cribbed right from Odysseus’s journey. Plus, you just might end up relating a whole lot to Odysseus.

Here’s what you need to know.

The A-list cast is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood

Heady, intellectual questions posed by an ancient text work best when delivered by A-list celebs with multiple Oscars between them—at least according to this adaptation. Everyone involved with this movie should clear off a statue-sized spot on their mantel right now, because it’s already generating major Oscar buzz.

In addition to Damon, Hathaway and Holland, the lineup includes Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page and Zendaya, whose fashion-forward press tour is turning heads all over the planet. Leaning into her role as Athena, she’s been rocking the Greek-goddess look, with ethereal dresses, white tunics, breastplates, lace-up gladiator sandals, feathers and other symbolic nods to her character’s duality.

Its themes of identity and resilience may particularly resonate with Gen Z

Odysseus spends much of The Odyssey in a struggle against outside forces and chaos, which also serve as stand-ins for humanity’s inner struggles. And while we can all relate on some level, these themes of identity and perseverance take on added relevance for younger generations. “The Odyssey is also an epic about identity, what it means to be a human being, what it means to be at home … and what we are willing to do to survive,” Jonas Grethlein, a classical philologist, told DW History and Culture. That’s a perfect fit for Gen Z, who’s been raised in an era of uncertainty and change—from technological to societal to climate. It’s a story of struggling to find your way when the world seems stacked against you.

You might think an old Greek poem would be a hard sell to the online generation, but Gen Zers are already primed to be receptive. Epic: The Musical, a nine-part, sung-through saga based on The Odyssey developed by college student Jorge Rivera-Herrans, took off like wildfire when the first installment dropped in 2021. It’s since become a 40-song collaborative effort (fans supply the art, aka “animatics,” as well as sing on the tracks), with billions of streams across multiple platforms.

See more on DW History and Culture and The Guardian

Odysseus is a complicated anti-hero

When it comes to central characters, especially heroes, big-budget films often center earnest, do-gooder, über-moral types. That’s definitely not happening here. “Odysseus is a warrior with wit and intellect, a con man and fabulist who constantly reinvents himself,” writes David Denby in The New Yorker. “Yet this complicated man wants only what any of us would want after terrible troubles—recovery and consolidation.” He’s just as flawed as anyone you’d meet on the street or find holding the levers of power. In other words, he’s human.

And the gods! These are not the benevolent, cloud-lounging angels you might be picturing. They play favorites, pit people against one another and punish the insufficiently deferential.

The struggles society faces today—from an increasingly inhospitable Earth, a spiraling economy and leaders who seem to care more about keeping their jobs than improving our lives—mirror Odysseus’s fights against the cyclops, sirens and giant cannibals that test his ability to navigate the life he is desperately trying to return to. In today’s complicated society, we need an Odysseus right now.

It’s an antidote to the AI slop we all hate

Theaters used to be filled with larger-than-life epics, from Lawrence of Arabia to Titanic, that had big budgets, far-flung shooting locations and hundreds of cast and crew. But artificial intelligence and its decidedly substandard output have changed how people view the creative process, leading stars like Damon to mourn the loss of quality filmmaking.

But Nolan disputes the worry, and the director has first-hand evidence for his confidence: his kids. “Their judgment of AI slop has been immediate and harsh,” Nolan said. “They see it for what it is very quickly—and it’s much easier for them to identify it, because it grew out of an online world they know really well.”

Speaking of which, this was quite the production

We’ve already mentioned the 2.1 million feet of film that Nolan used to shoot this movie. But what else does a $250 million budget buy you (aside from those A-list salaries)? For starters, the production spanned multiple locations in six countries—Greece, Italy, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland and the United States. Plus, designers created 5,300 costumes for the movie, and Nolan hired 2,o00 extras just for the siege of Troy scene.

And while this next tidbit has nothing to do with budget, it does show you just how “real” this production was. To film the Ithaca scenes, most of the cast and crew hiked for 45 minutes—up a rugged 900-foot hill—to get to the shooting location. Talk about dedication!

Odysseus and Penelope have a true partnership

Nothing screams “old-fashioned movie” like antiquated portrayals of relationships between men and women. So you might think a 3,000-year-old story would score pretty low on the enlightenment scale … but you would be 100% wrong. Odysseus and Penelope have what’s known in Greek literature as homophrosynē, or likemindedness, and according to Hathaway, Nolan showcased that copacetic sensibility here.

“There’s this impression of Penelope that she’s kind of the picture of modesty,” Hathaway told Time. “And I said, ‘Chris, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve written someone who is full of fury, and you seem to be implying that she’s actually Odysseus’s equal.'”

Instead of pining away, Penelope deals with her own internal and external crises, including outwitting dozens of plotting suitors and usurpers. “I found her to be this volcano of a human that was always simmering,” Hathaway said. “It was really fun when she finally exploded.”

It’s an action flick at heart

In addition to vengeful gods and murderous cyclops, our anti-hero and his compatriots must also contend with duplicitous, conniving—and very violent—human foes. The primary villains of the movie are Penelope’s suitors, who plot and scheme to take Odysseus’s place, and the biggest baddie of them all is Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson. And since he’s just one of more than 100 usurpers, you’ll see lots of fights and action.

You should also remember that this is a war film, so expect epic naval and land battles as well as fights with creatures like the Laestrygonians. “It was a fun sequence to shoot,” Nolan told Empire of Odysseus’s battle with the giant cannibals. “It’s really a thing of trying to get across the brutality. They’re warriors, and their weapons and armor [are] of a level of sophistication that Odysseus has never seen.”

See more on Today and Empire

But it speaks to universal human emotions

Odysseus’s story is centered around his homecoming and the challenges of reintegrating into his family and society, but it also examines concepts as lofty as loyalty and as pedestrian as being a good host. Characters in The Odyssey experience joy, rage, excitement and grief, and this universality is one reason Nolan says he’s been telling this story for years—in all of his films.

“It’s a family story, a love story, a revenge story, a war story, a coming-of-age story,” he told the Los Angeles Times of Homer’s epic. “It’s a very strong foundational text for me.”

Controversies have prompted heated debates

If you’ve been blissfully unaware of these controversies, here is the CliffNotes version: Helen of Troy is played by Lupita Nyong’o, who is Black (she also plays Clytemnestra in a dual role). This has caused so-called Odyssey purists, including Elon Musk, to cry foul as an ahistorical casting choice. Curiously, no one seems to be mad that the Boston-born-and-raised Matt Damon is playing someone of Greek origin.

The other main controversy is over the language the characters use, which is decidedly more contemporary than anyone in ancient Greece would have spoken. (Telemachus calls Odysseus “Dad” at one point.) Nolan has defended his choice to make the movie more accessible for today’s audiences, but it’s falling on deaf ears in some corners of the internet.

Emily Wilson, the first female translator of The Odyssey, whose 2017 work Nolan cites as an inspiration, is seeing an uptick in this chatter now that the movie release is imminent. “It’s a stand-in for a whole lot of made-up culture-war things,” she told Vulture. And isn’t that just so 2026?

History nerds will notice a few anachronisms

We love a good history fact, and we know you do too, so you’ll appreciate this game of Spot the Anachronism. People have their tunics in a twist over a few things that just were not a thing in ancient Greece. First up, the boats. Apparently, the Viking longship featured in the trailer would not have existed when The Odyssey was written.

Then there’s the matter of the pants. As a few very perplexed archaeologists have noted, ancient Greeks wouldn’t have been caught dead in pants. In fact, they would have found it “barbaric” and “odd,” which is how they discussed it when they encountered Persians wearing this now-common attire.

The Odyssey‘s armor and helmets also get the side-eye, since they are too dark to be realistic for ancient times, when warriors actually wore bright bronze and colorful adornments. One archaeologist specifically calls out Agamemnon’s helmet, which he says looks a lot like Batman’s signature headgear—something that has subsequently prompted “Batamemnon” mashups.

See more on Britannica, Annelise the Archaeologist and The Welsh Viking

Do a deep dive

Now that your curiosity is piqued about this classic poem and soon-to-be summer blockbuster, you may want to go all-in. Here are five great links to take you deeper into The Odyssey rabbit hole.

Read: The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson
Watch: The Odyssey: Behind the Scenes
Discuss: r/entertainment subreddit: The Odyssey first reactions
Listen to a podcast: What’s epic about The Odyssey? Everything.
Listen to the musical: Epic: The Musical

The Best Disaster Movies of All Time

Watch These Movies Based on True Stories

The Best Movies from the Last 100 Years

The post Everyone’s Talking About <i>The Odyssey</i>—Here’s Why an Ancient Greek Story Is Surprisingly Relevant Right Now appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Reader's Digest https://ift.tt/uQIirsv

Health Tips Line

Search This Blog