Christopher Nolan has defended his decision to cast rapper Travis Scott in his upcoming $250 million blockbuster The Odyssey, despite initial fan confusion following an early trailer.
Nolan stated that he chose Scott because the rapper’s role connects the ancient tradition of oral poetry with modern rap. “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 said.
He emphasized that his research for the Greek epic was as rigorous as it was for his previous films. Nolan compared the film’s historical reconstruction to his process on Interstellar, where he consulted experts to ensure scientific accuracy. “For Interstellar, you’re looking at, ‘What is the best speculation of the future?’ When you’re looking at the ancient past, it’s actually the same thing,” Nolan explained. “‘What is the best speculation and how can I use that to create a world?’”
In recent interviews, Nolan drew direct parallels between the blind poet Homer and modern filmmakers. “Even comic book culture, whether you’re talking about Marvel or DC or all the rest, a lot of it comes directly from the Homeric epics,” he said. Nolan described ancient source material as “the Marvel of its day,” suggesting that “Homer, in a way, is the sort of George Lucas of his time.”
The casting of Scott has not been the only creative choice under scrutiny. Some fans have noted that the film’s armor resembles the Batsuit from Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. However, Nolan stated costume designer Ellen Mirojnick used metallurgical theories—including sulfur to blacken bronze—to distinguish high-ranking characters such as Agamemnon, played by Benny Safdie. “The theory is they probably could have blackened bronze in those days,” Nolan added. “You take bronze, you add more gold and silver to it and then use sulfur … you do that through materials that would be very expensive.”
Scheduled for release on July 17, The Odyssey features a cast of thousands and marks the first time Nolan has shot a project entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras. Matt Damon stars as Odysseus alongside Anne Hathaway as Penelope, with Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong’o also in supporting roles.
While Nolan expects the film to spark debate, he hopes audiences recognize the serious research behind his creative choices. “Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything,” he said. “We had a lot of scientists complain about Interstellar. But you just don’t want people to think that you took it on frivolously.”
