Christopher Nolan has said The Odyssey\u2018s source material, the epic poem by ancient Greek writer Homer, was the superhero story of its time.<\/p>\n
Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the British director said Homer\u2019s original work, which chronicles the King of Ithaca\u2019s dangerous journey home after the Trojan War, was the \u201cMarvel of its day.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Nolan made the comment after Colbert recounted how The Odyssey\u2018s cast has superhero pedigree, including Spider-Man Tom Holland, Batman Robert Pattinson, and Catwoman Anne Hathaway.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven comic book culture, whether you\u2019re talking about Marvel or D.C. or all the rest, a lot of it comes pretty directly from the Homeric Epics,\u201d Nolan explained. \u201cThe thing about Homer is, nobody knows if that was a person. Homer, in a way, is the sort of George Lucas of his time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oppenheimer director added: \u201cThe thing about Homer, it is the Marvel of its day. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nolan said Homer\u2019s writing is echoed in his previous work, including The Dark Knight and Interstellar. \u201cThey all come from The Odyssey, so you get to kind of revisit that and look at it in its original form,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Nolan said the film has been written in a \u201cnon-linear way,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Holland features as Odysseus\u2019 (Matt Damon) son Telemachus. \u201cHe\u2019s amazing,\u201d Nolan said. \u201cI\u2019ve not worked with him before, but I would love to work with him again. I mean, he\u2019s just an incredible talent. He\u2019s so, so great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other cast includes Zendaya, Lupita Nyong\u2019o, Benny Safdie, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Elliott Page, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, and Corey Hawkins.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 memory is also guarded by his son Telemachus. The story also features gods including Athena, Poseidon and Zeus.<\/p>\n
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