Christopher Nolan has said The Odyssey‘s source material, the epic poem by ancient Greek writer Homer, was the superhero story of its time.
Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the British director said Homer’s original work, which chronicles the King of Ithaca’s dangerous journey home after the Trojan War, was the “Marvel of its day.”
Nolan made the comment after Colbert recounted how The Odyssey‘s cast has superhero pedigree, including Spider-Man Tom Holland, Batman Robert Pattinson, and Catwoman Anne Hathaway.
“Even comic book culture, whether you’re talking about Marvel or D.C. or all the rest, a lot of it comes pretty directly from the Homeric Epics,” Nolan explained. “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.”
The Oppenheimer director added: “The thing about Homer, it is the Marvel of its day. It’s very direct, 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.”
Nolan said Homer’s writing is echoed in his previous work, including The Dark Knight and Interstellar. “They all come from The Odyssey, so you get to kind of revisit that and look at it in its original form,” he continued.
Nolan said the film has been written in a “non-linear way,” adding that the original poem starts halfway through the story. During the interview, Nolan introduced the latest trailer for The Odyssey, which provides the most detailed look yet at the movie, which releases July 17.
Holland features as Odysseus’ (Matt Damon) son Telemachus. “He’s amazing,” Nolan said. “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.”
Other cast includes Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Benny Safdie, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Elliott Page, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, and Corey Hawkins.
During his voyage, Odysseus faces Polyphemus the Cyclops, Sirens, the nymph Calypso and the witch goddess Circe in the treacherous oceans that separate him from his island home and wife Penelope, who unravels a wedding train that she weaves every night in the event that one of the suitors who have taken over her home ends up marrying her should her husband not return. Odysseus’ memory is also guarded by his son Telemachus. The story also features gods including Athena, Poseidon and Zeus.
