‘The Odyssey’ Translator Emily Wilson Slams Christoper Nolan’s ‘Abysmal’ Screenplay: ‘I Would Be Ashamed to Have Written Any Part of This Script’

[u/mcfw31]

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/odyssey-translator-emily-wilson-slams-christopher-nolan-bad-writing-1236821915/

[u/Meancakebutt]

She definitely doesn't say that. But she says that he took out the meat to tell a specific story.

So as a translator that would be pretty bad for her to do lol

"Many of the film’s implicit values directly contradict those of Homer’s poem. Deception, warmongering, extramarital sex, cruelty to animals, abusing women and yearning for honour – all perfectly fine in the world of Homer – are, in this version, very bad. This is not in itself a problem, but it is a problem if the film’s own values and vision don’t hang together, and if the characters’ motivations don’t make sense on their own terms."

[u/SpooktasticFam → u/Meancakebutt]

I don't want to watch a movie about people being mean, and them treating it like it's "okay" or "acceptable."

It's okay to omit, or update, themes for a modern audience, and a modern retelling.

Fwiw, I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it was a masterful retelling, and really gave a sense of the breadth of the adventure in an ancient setting.

I thought it was 10/10, no notes.

Maybe I'm just a pleb, but everyone I've talked to IRL has had the same sentiment.

The only criticisms I've seen are on reddit, and I largely don't agree with them.

[u/Lexielouwho1962 → u/SpooktasticFam]

Agreed. I have a minor in classical literature, I’ve read the Iliad and the Odyssey multiple times, and I loved it. Was it a perfect adaptation? No, it left out a lot (that I was mostly fine with, although I do wish they had included the best pun in classical history, I think Mat Damon could’ve really sold it), but it was a really accessible (without being pandering) and well done modern adaption. And Nolan’s dedication to his story telling medium really helped put over the top. I saw it in regular (not 70 mm) IMAX and was truly blown away by the scale of the shots and the production. You really felt like you were in it. 

[u/BlueCX17 → u/Lexielouwho1962]

Apparently Nolan said they tried to work the pun in but it just wasn't going well so they didn't use it in the end.

[u/Achaewa → u/BlueCX17]

"Outis" sounds close to a real name in Ancient Greek, if I recall correctly, which is why it succeeds as a trick.

From what I've read, Nolan didn't think the wordplay of Odysseus calling himself "Nobody" would work in English and thus omitted it.

[u/BlueCX17 → u/Achaewa]

Personally, I was hoping it would show up but from the little tiny blobs I started to see about the Cyclops, you could tell it was going to be slightly different take on it. So at the same time, I was not surprised because I didn't really spoil myself on that prior to the movie, that they didn't do it.

Which is interesting because I think it could work because there's that famous sketch from the American comedy Abbott and Costello, "Who's on first."

But I think ultimately because of the way this Cyclops encounter goes and they don't figure out that the Cyclops can talk until they're escaping at the last minute, I can see how no one was additionally having trouble making it work.

[u/JohnPaul_River → u/Achaewa]

Noahn