MOVIE NEWS – Homer’s Odyssey, alongside the Iliad, is compulsory – or at least strongly recommended – reading in high schools, yet not every student is eager to chew through the polished hexameters. That’s why the question has surfaced: why did Universal so willingly spend $250 million on a blockbuster based on the Odyssey, when a budget of this size demands an extraordinary performance if the investment is to turn a profit?
To answer the scepticism, Universal Studios president Donna Langley, quoted by CinemaBlend, laid out several compelling arguments.
According to Langley, the creator behind the Odyssey adaptation, Christopher Nolan, is a guarantee of quality and success. Nolan’s previous film, Oppenheimer, with its massive box office approaching $1 billion, proved there is a broad audience – and one that is skewing younger – that buys a ticket specifically for the experience of “pure cinema”. The studio therefore believes viewers will go to the theatre for Nolan even if the film is an adaptation of a classic epic best known as required reading.
Langley is also known as the executive who lured Nolan to Universal from Warner Bros. after the director grew disillusioned with his former employer’s business strategy. The success of Oppenheimer then confirmed that Langley’s instincts were right.
The Odyssey has another appeal as well: it is expected to be visually immense. Langley argues that people crave large-scale, high-quality entertainment – the kind they want to experience on the world’s best screens, such as IMAX. Nolan’s films meet that demand, so the huge budget is not wasteful spending, but an investment in spectacle and technical excellence.
The studio chief says it was also worth taking the admitted risk because Nolan assembled a cast that can set film fans buzzing. With Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Zendaya and many others on board, success is virtually guaranteed.
Langley is not discouraged either by the fact that the trailer has already sparked criticism about historical authenticity. In her view, the director’s singular perspective and the film’s grand scale matter more than the observation that 3,300 years ago the Achaeans did not storm Troy wearing exactly the kind of helmets Matt Damon and his friends are shown with.
(The Odyssey – Release: July 16, 2026.)
Source: UIP Dunafilm
