Elon Musk, the tech titan behind Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), has been on a relentless crusade against Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, “The Odyssey.” This isn’t just a casual online critique; Musk has spent the entire week on X launching daily broadsides against the $250 million epic, set to hit theaters in July. His core grievances revolve around the film’s casting choices and the Academy Awards’ diversity rules, accusations that, upon closer inspection, appear to be built on a foundation of misinformation and personal bias.
Musk’s online campaign took off with particular fervor this week, fueled by a series of reposts and reactions to user-generated content. A central point of contention for him, and a recurring theme in the posts he amplifies, is the casting of Black actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and trans actor Elliot Page in an unspecified role. He has repeatedly boosted posts that wrongly claim Page is playing the Greek warrior Achilles, using this rumor to target Page specifically for his gender identity. This, despite the fact that Page’s role remains officially undisclosed and the Achilles rumor has no verifiable basis. Beyond individual casting, Musk has also taken aim at the very concept of diversity in filmmaking, particularly as it relates to awards eligibility. He wholeheartedly agreed with a post falsely stating that films must meet three specific diversity standards, including having 30% of their cast be non-white or non-straight, to be eligible for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This claim is simply not true, as these are just some of multiple potential criteria, and a film only needs to meet two of four broader standards, which themselves offer various pathways to fulfillment. Despite this factual inaccuracy, Musk has used this misinterpretation to accuse Nolan of deliberately choosing a diverse cast solely to curry favor with the Academy and win Oscars. His frustration culminated in a direct question on Friday: “Who specifically is the asshole who added DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] lies to Academy Awards eligibility instead of it just being about making the best movie?”
Let’s clear up the confusion around the Academy Awards’ diversity requirements, because Musk’s statements completely misrepresent them. To be considered for Best Picture, a film doesn’t have to jump through an unreasonable number of hoops or meet specific percentages of diverse actors in its cast in the way Musk suggests. Instead, it needs to satisfy two out of four broad diversity standards, and these standards are designed with flexibility in mind, offering multiple ways to achieve them. For instance, the first standard, focusing on on-screen representation, can be met by having just one main or significant supporting actor from an underrepresented group, or by having 30% of the entire cast be from such groups, or by having the film’s main theme center on an underrepresented group (which includes women, LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, and those with cognitive or physical disabilities). The second standard relates to creative leadership and crew; it can be satisfied by having two department heads (like the cinematographer or costume designer) from underrepresented groups, or six crew members, or 30% of the entire crew from these backgrounds. The third standard focuses on industry access, requiring the film’s studio or production company to offer internships or training to people from underrepresented groups. Finally, the fourth standard looks at studio executive representation, requiring multiple executives involved in the film’s development, marketing, publicity, or distribution to be from underrepresented groups. The post Musk enthusiastically endorsed was misleading because it cherry-picked only a few of these potential pathways, making it seem like films are forced into narrow, rigid diversity quotas when the reality is far more adaptable and holistic, aiming to encourage representation throughout the filmmaking process.
Musk’s current barrage against “The Odyssey” isn’t a new development; his skepticism goes back to January, when he first publicly questioned Nolan’s “integrity” in response to online criticisms about casting Nyong’o instead of a Greek actress. This week, his attacks escalated, with him agreeing with posts that labeled Nolan “racist against the Greek people and their cultural heritage” and accusing the director of “stomping on Homer’s grave.” Perhaps most alarmingly, Musk endorsed a tweet claiming “The Odyssey” is part of a broader “left-wing plan to destroy Western Civilization and everything that helped create it.” His crescendo of criticism came on Friday when he directly chastised Nolan, saying, “Shame on Chris Nolan for desecrating Homer! He will never live it down.” He also chimed in with a supportive “True” to Matt Walsh, a commentator from The Daily Wire, who suggested Nolan cast Nyong’o as Helen of Troy out of fear of being “called racist if he gave ‘the most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman.” These comments paint a picture of a deep-seated grievance, not just with specific casting choices, but with what Musk perceives as a politically motivated agenda infiltrating traditional storytelling and cultural heritage.
The controversy surrounding “The Odyssey” and its casting choices stems from a subset of critics who lament the alleged lack of Greek actors and question the historical accuracy of Nolan’s vision. Beyond Nyong’o and Page, some have also raised eyebrows at the casting of rapper Travis Scott in a smaller role. Nolan, however, has defended his decisions, specifically addressing the inclusion of Scott in an interview with Time. He explained, “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.” Many online defenders of Nolan’s casting choices point out that Helen of Troy is a mythological figure, not a historical person for whom strict fidelity to real-world ethnicity applies. Nolan himself has acknowledged that his adaptation won’t please everyone, drawing a parallel to his 2014 film, “Interstellar.” He told Time, “For Interstellar, you’re looking at, ‘What is the best speculation of the future?’ When you’re looking at the ancient past, it’s actually the same thing. ‘What is the best speculation and how can I use that to create a world?’” He expressed hope that audiences would “enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything.” Adding to the film’s early woes, the trailer release last week sparked a minor outcry over the actors, including British stars Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, using American accents. The Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd critically noted that “everybody sounds like they’re from Ohio,” an accent choice he found more fitting for “Ithaca, New York, than Ithaca, Greece,” ironically pointing out that even the historically inaccurate British accents often heard in historical epics like “Gladiator” would have felt more appropriate to some.
Despite the online brouhaha, “The Odyssey” is shaping up to be a cinematic juggernaut. It boasts an A-list ensemble cast, with Matt Damon leading as Odysseus, supported by stars like Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong’o. The film, shot across diverse locations including Greece, Italy, Iceland, and Scotland, even faced a minor controversy for filming in the disputed Western Sahara territory. “The Odyssey” marks Nolan’s highly anticipated follow-up to “Oppenheimer,” which raked in nearly $1 billion in 2023 and swept the Academy Awards, earning Nolan both Best Picture and Best Director. With an estimated budget of $250 million, making it the most expensive film of Nolan’s career, “The Odyssey” is already being touted by film publications as a potential box office sensation this summer. Deadline even reported last week that IMAX screenings for the film had sold out a year in advance, a testament to its immense anticipation. Nolan has reportedly been dreaming of bringing “The Odyssey” to the big screen for over two decades, signifying a deep personal connection to the project that goes far beyond any perceived attempt to appease awards committees or political agendas.