Casting Elon Musk’s “Historically Accurate" Version of The Odyssey

Did you know that Elon Musk wasn’t a huge fan of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey? Nolan’s epic film adaptation of Homer’s roughly 2,800-year-old epic poem is a smash hit with audiences and critics alike, earning a whopping $264 million at the global box office in its opening weekend—it had a pricey reported budget of $250 million—as well as both rave reviews and heaps of Oscar buzz. Of course, even something as successful as The Odyssey has its (very loud) detractors, many of whom are still crashing out online about Nolan’s diverse cast—specifically, Nolan’s decision to cast Lupita Nyong’o, a Black woman, as Helen of Troy and to cast Elliot Page, a trans man, as Sinon. Sigh; just as we predicted.

The arguably loudest voice among those crashing out happens to be the world’s first trillionaire. Despite having more money than anyone in recorded history, Elon Musk apparently has nothing better to do than join the keyboard warriors in railing against The Odyssey. Before the film’s release, Musk made his distaste for Nolan’s cinematic choices public, saying that Nolan had “desecrated” The Odyssey in order to win Oscars. Now that Musk has (ostensibly) seen the film, he’s doubling down—and seemingly putting his endless supply of money where his mouth is.

On Tuesday, Musk reposted a three-minute, AI-generated Odyssey teaser trailer built by an X user using Grok Imagine, writing: “Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.” The AI clip features a scene of Odysseus and Calypso, who are played, in Nolan’s movie, by two white actors, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. In the AI version, they’re replaced with computer-generated white “actors” speaking in vaguely British accents and standing on a cliff outside of a rocky cave. Already we’re off to a tough start. If Musk wants a “historically accurate” rendition of Homer’s poem—his words, not mine—shouldn’t Calypso, a sea nymph, be closer to a body of water? Strike one.

But wait, there’s more. This is not the only Odyssey adaptation that Musk has expressed support for on X. According to Forbes, that same day, a different X user went viral when they asked for Musk to give Mel Gibson—the patron saint of canceled men—$100 million to make an Odyssey adaptation with “painstakingly historically accurate ships, armour, weapons, and casting, with all dialogue taken straight from the original poem and delivered in Homeric Greek.” In true reply-guy fashion, Musk responded, “I’m down.” So, for those counting at home, Musk has now shared interest in the production of not one, but two different Odyssey film adaptations—one AI-generated, the other Gibson-directed, both “historically accurate.”

Anne Hathaway is Penelope and Tom Holland is Telemachus in THE ODYSSEY.Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

While it’s highly unlikely that either of these two projects will actually come to fruition, it’s worth wondering what Musk’s “historically accurate” Odyssey might look like, whether AI-generated or Gibson-directed. Never mind the fact that a “historically accurate” adaptation of The Odyssey is, in and of itself, a logical fallacy: Homer’s nearly 3,000-year-old epic is populated by mythical Greek gods like Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena, as well as imaginary mythical monsters like Cyclopes, giants, sirens, and a witch who can turn men into pigs. The opening chyron of Nolan’s film acknowledges this: His story takes place “in a time of apparent magic.” But if you were to take Musk and his cronies at face value, you’d have to believe not only that all of these magical, mythical beings could be found in documented history, but also that Nolan did a piss-poor job of rendering them onscreen. Apologies to Bill Irwin’s towering and vulnerable performance as the one-eyed Polyphemus. (Yes, that was Bill Irwin!)

If Musk really wanted to make a historically accurate version of The Odyssey, he’d film a guy named Homer wearing a robe and reciting a poem around a fire for hours upon hours. But even that version might not cut the mustard when it comes to “historical accuracy.” There’s a vibrant scholarly debate as to whether Homer was a single person or many people; it’s called the Homeric question. Thus, Musk’s promise to stay “true to the art of Homer” is not as simple as he or his followers would like to believe.

It’s clear that what bothers Musk and company the most in regard to the “accuracy” of The Odyssey is the diversity of Nolan’s cast. “There were no Black people or trans people in ancient Greek mythology,” they furiously type on their crumb-covered keyboards. (They’re wrong on both counts: In Greek mythology, Aethiopia was a kingdom often associated with sub-Saharan Africa, and Hermaphroditos, the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite, quite famously had both male and female characteristics after fusing with the water nymph Salmacis. But I digress.) Nevertheless, it seems that, in either movie, Musk would be looking for not only a white, cisgender cast, but also a Greek cast at that. (For what it’s worth, some Greek people are actually mad about the Greek-actor erasure in Nolan’s version.) Thankfully, he’s got a bevy of Greek stars available to replace A-listers like Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Zendaya.

There’s Nia Vardalos, writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding; given that she’s the reigning queen of Greek-themed cinema, it only makes sense that she’d slot in for Hathaway’s Queen Penelope. Her king and long-lost husband, Odysseus, could be played by none other than Uncle Jesse: John Stamos. America’s sweetheart Jennifer Aniston has Greek origins: Her dad, John Aniston, née Yannis Anastassakis, was born on the island of Crete. All that time spent shilling Smartwater would make her a shoo-in for Calypso. Tina Fey, whose mother was born in Piraeus, would make an incredible Circe—turning men into pigs sounds like something straight out of the Liz Lemon playbook.

Other Greeks who could round out the ensemble cast include but are not limited to: Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos, The Hangover’s Zach Galifianakis, and The League’s Jason Mantzoukas—who, by the way, played a tech worker of Arab descent on HBO’s Enlightened, which didn’t seem to bother Musk at the time. The Miami Heat’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, born and raised in Athens to Nigerian parents, could play all of the giant Laestrygonians. The heads of Musk and company might explode at the concept of intersectionality when it comes to Antetokounmpo, but his NBA nickname is the Greek Freak—and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone taller than the six-foot-eleven power forward.

Last but certainly not least, there’s Tilly Norwood, Hollywood’s first AI actor. While she isn’t necessarily Greek (is she?), she is white (isn’t she?), so I’m pretty sure they can make room in the cast for her as well. Pencil her in for Helen of Troy. Tilly Norwood—a face so algorithmically perfect that it could absolutely launch 1,000 ships.