MOVIE NEWS – Christopher Nolan’s $250 million adaptation of The Odyssey is only just reaching theaters, yet another version of Homer’s epic has already been announced. The television project, titled Odysseus, intends to leave mythological spectacle behind and examine the bloodshed, political maneuvering, and historical realities of the Bronze Age.

Homer’s poem has repeatedly drawn filmmakers back to Odysseus’ journey for the better part of a century, with screen versions ranging from Italy’s 1968 production L’Odissea to NBC’s 1997 miniseries, which earned Andrei Konchalovsky an Emmy. Some estimates place the total number of adaptations above a dozen, making this one of the most frequently revisited stories in Western literature. This week, however, the spotlight belongs entirely to Christopher Nolan. His $250 million interpretation arrives in theaters on Friday, having been photographed exclusively on IMAX 70mm film and accompanied by enthusiastic early reviews and growing speculation about its awards prospects.

The people developing another, completely independent interpretation are undoubtedly aware of the timing. Just as Nolan’s The Odyssey begins its theatrical run, an independent European-American television series called Odysseus has been unveiled through Tanweer, the Athens-based Greek company preparing the production. Tanweer also distributes Nolan’s film in the region, creating an unusual connection between the two versions. The producers nevertheless insist that beyond their source material and that distribution link, the projects are pursuing fundamentally different ambitions.

According to Deadline, Karl Gajdusek will oversee the series after previously serving as showrunner and executive producer on the first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Dutch filmmaker Roel Reiné, whose television credits include Halo and Black Sails, is attached to direct. Sean Finegan, Scott Windhauser, Noah Lang, and Blake Hoss wrote the pilot, while Tanweer is producing with the American company Tectonic and the U.S.-Armenian banner USATV.

Rather than trying to compete with Nolan on the scale of its monsters or battle scenes, the television adaptation is building its identity around history. Nolan’s film offers gods, mythical creatures, IMAX grandeur, and an enormous cast led by Matt Damon, whereas Odysseus will examine the Bronze Age society from which the legend may have emerged. Its world is being described through ships, blood, betrayal, and merciless political calculations, all unfolding against the civilizational collapse that eventually shattered much of the known world.

“There’s something huge about taking on this epic story in the most grounded and realpolitik way we can,” Gajdusek said. The project has already spent nearly five years in development, and its creators are considering possibilities that extend beyond a single self-contained series. They are open to establishing a larger narrative universe, an ambition that could eventually carry the production well beyond Gajdusek’s initial pursuit of the “true story” concealed beneath the myth.

Several essential pieces still have to fall into place. No streaming service or broadcaster has acquired the series, no actors have been announced, and there is currently no proposed release period. Production is tentatively expected to begin early next year in Greece and Armenia, which means Odysseus will arrive years after Nolan has presented his own defining vision to audiences around the world.

The more compelling issue is whether viewers will embrace two versions of the same voyage, and the answer may depend partly on how The Odyssey performs during its opening weekend. A historically grounded interpretation does offer a meaningfully different proposition from Nolan’s mythological epic. Should Gajdusek bring even some of the character-driven instincts that helped the first season of Stranger Things connect with viewers, the uncertain territory between documented history and enduring legend may give Odysseus the identity it needs.

Source: MovieWeb