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Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey is already facing criticism for rewriting history.
On Tuesday, Universal Pictures released first-look images of Matt Damon in full costume as Odysseus. Damon will lead the new historical epic as the Greek hero alongside an all-star cast comprised of Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, and Charlize Theron.
In the picture, Damon is seen wearing a cape, wrist armor, and a traditional Spartan helmet topped with a red plume.
It’s the latter detail that has since generated controversy, with numerous people on X pointing out that it differs from what is described in the original text.
“The Iliad literally describes Odysseus wearing a kino leather helmet adorned with boar tusks, but Hollywood can never resist the siren song of the generic ancient broom helmet. This helmet is like cocaine to costume designers,” wrote a user named @witte_sergei.
They additionally shared a screenshot of the “relevant passage from book 10,” which reads: “And Meroiones gave to Odysseus a bow and a quiver and a sword, and about his head he set a helm wrought of hide, and with many tight-stretched thong was it made stiff within, while without the white teeth of a boar of gleaming tusks were set on this side and that.”
Another concurred: “The Odyssey is set during the age of heros (aka the Mycenaean period) some time around 1200 BC and so the helmets would have been of the boar tusk style, not the corinthian style. The corinthian helmet didn’t come into use until the Archaic period, around 700 BC.”
The Independent has contacted Nolan’s representative for comment.
The Odyssey, which will arrive in theaters July 17, 2026, will be Nolan’s first film since his 2024 Oscar winner, Oppenheimer.
It will partially be filmed in Sicily, where scholars say Homer based a portion of Odysseus’ journey in his eighth-century BCE epic.
Filming is scheduled to begin in the next few months on the island of Favignana, known as “goat island,” according to Variety.
Favignana is understood to be the place where Homer wrote that Odysseus and his crew landed, collected food, and barbecued goats in the tale. It is part of the Egadi archipelago off of Sicily’s northwest coast.
Other filming locations will include the U.K. and Morocco.
One of the most significant works of early literature, The Odyssey follows Odysseus, the King of the Greek island of Ithaca, who embarks on a long journey home after the end of the Trojan War. However, his expedition proves perilous as he has to battle numerous threats and mythological creatures.
