Christopher Nolan isn't one to shy away from a fight – and he's just fired back at his critics over the casting choices for his epic film, 'The Odyssey'. The director has branded the online backlash as 'irrelevant', insisting that only when people have seen the movie will they truly understand his vision. It's been a tumultuous few weeks in the run-up to the film's release on July 17th – but with the curtains about to rise, it's clear Nolan is focused on delivering something special.
The casting decisions that have sparked controversy include Lupita Nyong'o taking on dual roles as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Elliot Page as the Greek soldier Sinon, and Travis Scott as a charismatic bard. Even Elon Musk has waded into the debate, accusing Nolan of 'anti-white racist' tendencies over Nyong'o's casting – but the director isn't having it.
Nolan's response to the criticism is typically forthright: 'these conversations that happen before people see the film are always irrelevant because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.' He's drawing on his own experiences with the 'Batman' trilogy, where intense fan scrutiny only drove him to dig deeper into the source material. Nolan is convinced that honouring the original story while bringing it bang up-to-date in language and tone will speak for itself – and early reactions suggest he might be onto a winner.
As we saw at the London premiere earlier this month, 'The Odyssey' has left audiences in awe – with Samantha Morton's goddess Circe performance receiving rave reviews. Nolan is clearly thrilled with how it's all come together, comparing an on-set ovation for Morton to the seismic impact of Heath Ledger's Joker in 'The Dark Knight'. It looks like even the fiercest critics might be won over by Nolan's magnum opus – and we can't wait to see how it fares at the box office.