'The Odyssey': Christopher Nolan adds 'Black Panther' star for major double role and the cast is insane
Perhaps no other filmmaker has been able to blend towering artistic vision with splendid commercial success to the degree that Christopher Nolan has in recent times. The 'Oppenheimer' director has come to establish himself as one of the foremost cinematic voices of his generation, fueled by his ardent love for film. As Nolan is getting ready to present his version of Homer's epic 'Odyssey' on-screen, an interesting bit of casting news has emerged from a Time Magazine profile about the director, putting in place one of the last remaining pieces of the film's ensemble cast. 'Odyssey' is scheduled to release in theatres on July 17.
According to the report, 'Black Panther' star Lupita Nyong'o has been cast to play two roles in the upcoming film. Nyong'o's casting had been the subject of online speculation way before it was confirmed by Nolan. She will first be seen as Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world of 'Odyssey,' and the wife of Menelaus, played by Jon Bernthal. In the aftermath of Helen eloping with Paris, the Prince of Troy, she is blamed for causing the war between Troy and Sparta. On the other hand, the Academy Award winner will also portray Helen's sister, Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon, played by Benny Safdie. Matt Damon will star in the titular role of Odysseus, while the character of his son Telemachus will be played by Tom Holland.
The remaining cast of the upcoming film includes Charlize Theron as the nymph Calypso, Robert Pattinson as Penelope’s suitor Antinous, and John Leguizamo as Odysseus’s servant Eumaeus. Himesh Patel will be seen as Eurylochus, Zendaya will play the goddess Athena, while Mia Goth appears as Melantho. Jimmy Gonzales will be seen as Cepheus, while Will Yun Lee will play a yet-to-be-disclosed character. Nolan recently shared his insight about casting Travis Scott to play a bard in the film, remarking, "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." 'The Odyssey' is about to be the first feature film shot entirely in IMAX.
The 'Interstellar' director further explained in his Time Magazine profile that he deliberately declines to cast actors to play the gods of Mount Olympus in the upcoming film. Nolan explained, "I became more interested in the idea that, to people in that period, evidence of gods was everywhere. The wonderful thing about cinema, and IMAX in particular, is that you can take an audience to a place of immersion, feeling close to events like storms, turbulent seas, high winds. You want the audience to be on the boat with them, fearing the ocean, fearing the wrath of Poseidon, the way the characters do. That to me is so much more powerful than any individual image you can have (of a god)."
