56 votes

Christopher Nolan’s next film is an adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey,’ Universal reveals

25 comments

  1. [7]
    stu2b50
    Link
    It’s going to have a runtime of 5 hours and it’ll be beautiful. I’ve yet to be seriously disappointed by a Nolan movie, and an odyssey adaption seems like a great fit for his style.

    It’s going to have a runtime of 5 hours and it’ll be beautiful.

    I’ve yet to be seriously disappointed by a Nolan movie, and an odyssey adaption seems like a great fit for his style.

    25 votes
    1. [2]
      BashCrandiboot
      Link Parent
      Starring Cillian Murphy as Odysseus. Tom Hardy as the cyclops. And Michael Caine as Zeus.

      Starring Cillian Murphy as Odysseus. Tom Hardy as the cyclops. And Michael Caine as Zeus.

      19 votes
      1. balooga
        Link Parent
        And Marion Cotillard as Penelope.

        And Marion Cotillard as Penelope.

        9 votes
    2. [2]
      Wafik
      Link Parent
      Agreed. He is about the only reliable director at this point, but then I also really enjoyed Tenet so maybe I'm broken.

      Agreed. He is about the only reliable director at this point, but then I also really enjoyed Tenet so maybe I'm broken.

      4 votes
      1. smoontjes
        Link Parent
        Also Villeneuve! A couple of his movies are 'only' good, most of them are truly great - really, he has zero bad movies just like Nolan. His weakest, Enemy, is about on par with Nolan's weakest...

        He is about the only reliable director at this point

        Also Villeneuve! A couple of his movies are 'only' good, most of them are truly great - really, he has zero bad movies just like Nolan. His weakest, Enemy, is about on par with Nolan's weakest which is either his Batman 3 or Tenet (in my opinion. But I do get the appeal of Tenet!)

        I do have one big gripe with Nolan which is his female characters. Practically none of them are well written. There's that joke about Elliot Page's character in Inception being the only good one, but then he came out as a man so it doesn't count lol

        10 votes
    3. TheRTV
      Link Parent
      I will be there in the theater for all 5 hours.

      I will be there in the theater for all 5 hours.

      2 votes
    4. hexagonsun
      Link Parent
      I'm not a big fan mostly due to the writing, but he picks interesting projects and there's good technical execution which I definitely do enjoy!

      I'm not a big fan mostly due to the writing, but he picks interesting projects and there's good technical execution which I definitely do enjoy!

      2 votes
  2. [2]
    heh
    Link
    This sounds great and I'll go watch it in the theatre and all of that. But it's a little too on-the-nose for Nolan. A historical epic with all the familiar faces. yawn. I'd like to see Nolan make...

    This sounds great and I'll go watch it in the theatre and all of that. But it's a little too on-the-nose for Nolan. A historical epic with all the familiar faces. yawn.

    I'd like to see Nolan make a horror movie. Like Kubrick did with The Shining. Something unexpected and out of left field for him, something unique and smart and subtle. A serial killer fungus or a malfunctioning time machine.

    15 votes
    1. smiles134
      Link Parent
      Not really a horror movie I guess but he did direct Insomnia, and his first film Following is more thrillerish than the rest of his filmography

      Not really a horror movie I guess but he did direct Insomnia, and his first film Following is more thrillerish than the rest of his filmography

      6 votes
  3. [3]
    HEBV5
    Link
    I'm interested in what Nolan can offer, but I'm hard pressed to imagine what he can provide that the Coen Brothers didn't with their version in O Brother, Where Art Thou? unless he's going for...

    I'm interested in what Nolan can offer, but I'm hard pressed to imagine what he can provide that the Coen Brothers didn't with their version in O Brother, Where Art Thou? unless he's going for hard adherence to source material.

    11 votes
    1. sparksbet
      Link Parent
      I was about to leave more or less this exact comment lol. O Brother Where Art Thou? is such a phenomenal retelling. I'll be excited if Nolan does something interesting, but I can't imagine he'll...

      I was about to leave more or less this exact comment lol. O Brother Where Art Thou? is such a phenomenal retelling. I'll be excited if Nolan does something interesting, but I can't imagine he'll top it.

      6 votes
    2. boxer_dogs_dance
      Link Parent
      I would love to see a version that is somewhat faithful to source material without being cheesy.

      I would love to see a version that is somewhat faithful to source material without being cheesy.

      6 votes
  4. [4]
    smiles134
    Link
    Will be interesting to see what he does with it. It's pretty episodic in a way that I don't think makes for a great direct adaptation to the screen, but you could make a whole movie about his...

    Will be interesting to see what he does with it. It's pretty episodic in a way that I don't think makes for a great direct adaptation to the screen, but you could make a whole movie about his return to Ithaca and challenging the suitors/reuniting with Penelope.

    But you'd miss out on some of the other interesting episodes like Scylla and Charybdis, Circe, the cyclops, etc.

    I also think the actual ending would need to be majorly reworked for a modern audience.

    8 votes
    1. [2]
      AnnaLogg
      Link Parent
      funny you say that, since The Return starring Ralph Fiennes is exactly that. a slow burn drama with zero mythological elements that focuses on Odysseus's trauma/guilt and his relationship with...

      you could make a whole movie about his return to Ithaca and challenging the suitors/reuniting with Penelope.

      funny you say that, since The Return starring Ralph Fiennes is exactly that. a slow burn drama with zero mythological elements that focuses on Odysseus's trauma/guilt and his relationship with Penelope.

      17 votes
      1. smiles134
        Link Parent
        Good shout-out, I'm unfamiliar with the film but it sounds right up my alley.

        Good shout-out, I'm unfamiliar with the film but it sounds right up my alley.

        4 votes
    2. happimess
      Link Parent
      The actual ending has already been reworked to rehabilitate Odysseus The Stone Cold Murderer, some would argue. There's a section that has him go off to see his dad, then carry an oar away from...

      The actual ending has already been reworked to rehabilitate Odysseus The Stone Cold Murderer, some would argue. There's a section that has him go off to see his dad, then carry an oar away from the ocean. I'm no expert, but it did always feel a little tacked-on to me.

      The end of the Odyssey has been disputed since antiquity and has in the modern era become fuel for analytic scholarship.

      [https://classicalstudies.org/ends-odyssey]

      2 votes
  5. [2]
    bret
    Link
    ohh man i cant wait. i hope hans zimmer is on board too

    ohh man i cant wait. i hope hans zimmer is on board too

    6 votes
    1. Nivlak
      Link Parent
      If not him then Ludwig Göransson is my pick.

      If not him then Ludwig Göransson is my pick.

      3 votes
  6. apolz
    Link
    I love Christopher Nolan, but I feel like this will either be awful or amazing. Either way, props to him for picking up the riskiest projects in Hollywood! The rest of the blockbuster movie...

    I love Christopher Nolan, but I feel like this will either be awful or amazing. Either way, props to him for picking up the riskiest projects in Hollywood! The rest of the blockbuster movie industry has been a total yawn for years.

    6 votes
  7. Gazook89
    Link
    I want to know who will do the music. I bet it’ll be great.

    I want to know who will do the music. I bet it’ll be great.

    4 votes
  8. SpruceWillis
    Link
    I'm very much into this. I've been running a Greco-Roman D&D campaign called "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" for the past couple of years with a couple of groups and I've been having a blast with the...

    I'm very much into this.

    I've been running a Greco-Roman D&D campaign called "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" for the past couple of years with a couple of groups and I've been having a blast with the Ancient Greek tropes.

    I also love Nolan's films, have done since I first saw Batman Begins, so I'll always look forward to his future projects.

    4 votes
  9. [4]
    timo
    Link
    Would love to see Nolan make this a normal chronological story. I like his movies, but his obsession with the concept of time is getting a bit old. I don’t know if it makes his movies better,...

    Would love to see Nolan make this a normal chronological story. I like his movies, but his obsession with the concept of time is getting a bit old. I don’t know if it makes his movies better, worse or it just doesn’t do anything for them.

    4 votes
    1. [3]
      Landhund
      Link Parent
      I wouldn't hold my breath. In it's original form, the Odyssey has about as much temporal fuckery as any recent Nolan movie. The story is actually told surprisingly disjointed. I only recently...

      I wouldn't hold my breath. In it's original form, the Odyssey has about as much temporal fuckery as any recent Nolan movie. The story is actually told surprisingly disjointed. I only recently found out myself when listening to Steven Fry's phenomenal version of it.

      12 votes
      1. [2]
        smoontjes
        Link Parent
        Goodreads says that it's a retelling. Does that mean that it's told in a modern story way, and not in those verses etc?

        Goodreads says that it's a retelling. Does that mean that it's told in a modern story way, and not in those verses etc?

        2 votes
        1. Landhund
          Link Parent
          Yes, that is a pretty accurate description. If you are at all interested in the myths of ancient Greece and haven't read or listened to Steven Fry's other books on the topic (Mythos, Heroes, and...

          Yes, that is a pretty accurate description. If you are at all interested in the myths of ancient Greece and haven't read or listened to Steven Fry's other books on the topic (Mythos, Heroes, and Troy) I very much recommend them, they are simply an absolute pleasure to experience!

          2 votes