Elon Musk has launched a public attack on filmmaker Christopher Nolan, accusing the two-time Academy Award winner of compromising his artistic integrity amid online controversy surrounding the casting of his forthcoming film The Odyssey.
The tech billionaire made the remarks on X over the weekend as speculation grew that actress Lupita Nyong’o may be portraying Helen of Troy in the new direct adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem.
“Chris Nolan has lost his integrity,” Mr Musk wrote on Saturday, weighing in on a heated debate about whether the rumoured casting would honour the ancient Greek source material.
Ms Nyong’o’s precise role in the production has not been officially confirmed, although her connection to the project was first reported in late 2024.
Elon Musk said Christopher Nolan has ‘lost his integrity’
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GB NewsThe controversy was sparked when an X user claimed that Ms Nyong’o would portray Helen, sharing an image alongside the caption: “Already ruined the film for me. People are tired of woke casting.”
Some users argued that Homer described Helen as fair-skinned and blonde, famously known as “the face that launched a thousand ships”, and that the casting would disrespect the poet’s original vision.
Thousands of comments followed, with critics and supporters of the rumoured decision debating the issue online.
“It makes you think of casting and woke stuff instead of just enjoying the movie,” one user wrote, while another declared: “I’m not watching this.”
Lupita Nyong’o is rumoured to be cast as Helen of Troy in the new adaption
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GETTY
Another penned that “casting Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy is absolutely disgusting and goes directly against what was written thousands of years ago”.
Others responded directly to Mr Musk’s post, with one commenter claiming: “To get tax credits, they have DEI requirements on every movie. It’s ridiculous.”
Another wrote: “He wants an Oscar and they require the cast to be woke or it doesn’t qualify.”
Some critics contrasted Ms Nyong’o’s appearance with ancient descriptions of Helen as “white-armed” and “golden-haired”, while memes mocking the rumoured casting circulated online.
Diane Kruger played Helen of Troy in the 2004 film ‘Troy’
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WARNER BROS
Not everyone has taken issue with this potential casting, however. One X user said “Look, it doesn’t even matter,” while another wrote: “Yeah! I understand how she was described in the story! But I’m not very religious or anything but I’ve read my fair share of the Bible. Wasn’t Jesus described a certain way and played by another race???!?”.
Others defended the actress, citing her Oscar-winning performance in 12 Years a Slave and her acting range.
Variety first linked Ms Nyong’o to Mr Nolan’s project in November 2024, with the film’s title confirmed the following month.
However, Universal Pictures has not verified which character, if any, the actress will portray.
The ensemble cast already attached to the project includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and Elliot Page.
The Odyssey has also attracted attention for its technical ambitions, with the film set to become the first narrative feature shot entirely using IMAX cameras.
A newly developed sound-dampening device known as a “blimp” is said to have solved the longstanding issue of capturing quiet dialogue with the large-format equipment.
Mr Nolan previously told Empire Magazine: “You can be shooting a foot from [an actor’s] face while they’re whispering and get usable sound. What that opens up are intimate moments of performance on the world’s most beautiful format.”
Mr Musk sparked a debate online
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REUTERSRapper Travis Scott’s involvement in the project was revealed during an advertisement broadcast during coverage of the NFL AFC Championship game.
This is not the first time Mr Musk has criticised casting decisions in Hollywood.
He called out the Netflix drama Adolescence in April for allegedly “race-swapping” a black perpetrator to a white character in a story about radicalisation, describing it as “anti-white propaganda.”
The Tesla CEO accused the show of distorting real-life events, though creator Jack Thorne denied these claims, stating the series is a fictional exploration of masculinity.