The Odyssey: Christopher Nolan says Homer was the ‘Marvel of his day’, lauds Tom Holland

“Even comic book culture, whether you’re talking about Marvel or D.C. or all the rest, a lot of it comes directly from the Homeric Epics. The thing about Homer is, nobody knows if that was a person. Homer, in a way, is the sort of George Lucas of his time.” He continued, drawing a further parallel between myth and modern mythmaking: “The thing about Homer, it is the Marvel of its day. It’s very directly this desire for us to feel or believe gods could walk amongst us, and I think the modern comic book is kind of our expression of that.”

‘Tom Holland is incredible talent’

Christopher Nolan also took a moment during the interview to praise the cast of The Odyssey. Speaking about Tom Holland, he said, “He’s amazing. I’ve not worked with him before, but I would love to work with him again. I mean, he’s just an incredible talent. He’s so, so great.” He also spoke warmly about Anne Hathaway and her recent film The Devil Wears Prada 2, adding, “I watched it last night. It was fabulous. With Emily Blunt as well. Terrific.”

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Last week, Nolan acknowledged the scale of expectation surrounding the project, given its legendary source material and global anticipation. Speaking to the Associated Press, he said, “There’s a massive amount of pressure. Anyone taking on The Odyssey is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere and that comes with a huge responsibility.”

Reflecting on his previous work, including his acclaimed Batman trilogy, he added, “What I learned from that experience is that what people want from a movie about a beloved story, a beloved set of characters, is they want a strong and sincere interpretation. They want to know that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I really tried to make the best film possible.”

The Odyssey is Christopher Nolan’s cinematic adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic of the same name, which follows Odysseus’ long and perilous ten-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. The film is scheduled for theatrical release on July 17.