Christopher Nolan says his version of “The Odyssey” is meant to work for audiences whether they know the ancient poem well or are encountering it for the first time, according to ABC News. The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 17.
At the center is Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and the strategist behind the Trojan Horse, whose long journey home drives the story. In the film, Matt Damon plays Odysseus as he tries to return to Penelope and Telemachus.
Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway, has spent 20 years waiting for her husband while more than 100 suitors occupy the palace and hope to win her hand. Tom Holland plays Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, who sets out to learn more about his missing father after growing up without him.
The cast also includes Zendaya as Athena, the goddess associated with craft, warfare and wisdom, who appears to guide Odysseus along the way. The story features Robert Pattinson as Antinous, one of the suitors, as well as Lupita Nyong’o in the roles of Helen and Clytemnestra, and John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, the loyal swineherd.
Other figures in the film include Menelaus, the king of Sparta, and Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and commander of the Greek army during the Trojan War. According to ABC News, the adaptation keeps the story’s major relationships and conflicts while aiming to make the ancient tale feel accessible to a modern audience.
