Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, one of the most anticipated films of the year, has become the latest Hollywood blockbuster to find itself at the center of a culture war casting controversy, drawing backlash following confirmation that Lupita Nyong'o will play Helen of Troy (and her sister, Clytemnestra) and a wave of online outrage over unconfirmed reports that Elliot Page will play Achilles.
Speculation of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy, described as the most beautiful woman in the world, were confirmed this week through a TME article. The news was met with with outrage from the usual corners of the internet.
The Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh slammed the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen, claiming, "Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave “the most beautiful woman” role to a white woman."
Conservative billionaire Elon Musk responded to Walsh's post with a simple "True," while simultaneously reposting other claims that Nolan's diverse cast is a result of DEI practices so that it will be eligible for awards.
The backlash, of course, is purely about race. Specifically, the supposed historical inaccuracy of casting a Black woman as a character who has largely been depicted as a pale European.
But that argument falls apart quickly under scrutiny. Helen is a mythological figure, not a historical one, and Homer's Iliad describes her only as breathtakingly beautiful. There's no mention of race or skin color. The pale, blonde Helen most people picture is a product of Western artistic tradition, most recently embodied by Diane Kruger in the 2004 film Troy.
And that's really what this anger boils down to. It was never about historical accuracy. It's about the disruption of a cultural image people grew up with.
Adding further fuel to the conservative fire is speculation that Achilles will be played by Elliot Page, rumors that have not yet been confirmed by Nolan nor the studio. Critics have taken issue with Page's casting on the grounds that he is transgender, arguing that a role like Achilles, popularly depicted as the archetypal muscular warrior, demands a cisgender male actor.
Again, the anger has less to do with mythology and more to do with a very modern idea of what a hero is supposed to look like. Detractors have posted numerous AI-generated videos mocking Page's 5'1" stature compared to that of Brad Pitt, who memorably portrayed Achilles in 2004's Troy.
Rounding it all out is criticism over the casting of Travis Scott, who plays a bard in the film and was seen briefly in a promotional trailer. As with Nyong'o, critics have argued that a Black actor has no place in ancient Greece. But Scott's casting has drawn a second, separate line of attack with detractors arguing a rapper with limited acting experience has no business appearing in a prestige epic at all.
For Nolan, though, the choice was intentional. "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," he defended in the same TIME.
Whether the backlash amounts to anything more than social media noise, or quietly follows The Odyssey all the way to the box office, is a question only opening weekend can answer. Do you plan on seeing the movie in theaters?