Findlater Castle, Aberdeenshire – Bob Marshall, WikiMedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

One of the most trustworthy directors of the modern day is lining up a bombastic return to the big screen with a new exploration of the Ancient Greek poem The Odyssey. Coming off of the back of surprise blockbuster sensation Oppenheimer, which was hailed as a breathtaking experience, Christopher Nolan is riding high.

Now, his new project is well underway, and The Odyssey crew has officially landed in Scotland to begin production, ready to make the most of Nolan’s momentum and the continued intrigue in the famed myths of Ancient Greece. If the director stays true to form, The Odyssey could join the all-time great pop culture entries based on Greek tales.

---

The Odyssey Crew Takes Over a Castle

Unsplash.com

On 11 June, word of Christopher Nolan’s film set landing in the north-east of Scotland broke. It looks as though the crew will be working at Findlater Castle in Moray for around six weeks, with the castle now closed to the public until 25 July. At the time of writing, the all-star cast is yet to arrive.

That cast features Matt Damon as Odysseus himself. He’ll be joined by Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Cosmo Jarvis, Ryan Hurst, and Himesh Patel.

How the ruined castle will feature in the film isn’t known. Set on some incredible cliffs and green peaks, it makes for quite a striking shot. With Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan War taking him to all kinds of places, it’ll be interesting to see how Findlater Castle is used in the story.

Even if it doesn’t align with the Mediterranean setting, Nolan’s got the budget to make it seem so. His highest budget film to date is reportedly The Dark Knight Rises, the end of the epic trilogy about superhero Batman, and yet, there’s word that the famed director has more than that $250 million to play with for The Odyssey.

---

Entering a Vaunted and popular field of Interest

The Odyssey is one of the most famous entries into the Ancient Greek lexicon. Penned by Homer, the epic poem remains among the cohort of stories that remain relevant to this day. In the case of Odysseus’ tale, while his struggles just to get home are the focus, so too is Penelope’s chance to take control as her suitors circle.

So well-known are the characters and myths of Ancient Greece that they have been translated to every corner of modern pop culture and entertainment. This is most prominently shown by the prominence of the theme in the top slots of the jackpot casino. Zeus Gold Blitz Fortune Tower headlines these, while Resurrecting Riches joins the fold.

The slots invariably lean into the power of the Greek gods, using their abilities, like Zeus’ lightning bolts, as key parts of features and bonuses. Of course, this isn’t the only angle to draw from the old tales. One of the most popular recent entries to the field was the darkly comic streaming show KAOS, starring Jeff Goldblum.

It ended up on the Netflix burn pile along with so many other well-written shows, but still holds up as an eight-episode, single-season run out. From there, you can see perpetual favourites like 300 and Troy in the realm of film as well as the God of War, Age of Mythologies, Total War, and Hades series in video gaming.

The Odyssey has commenced filming, embarking on its journey to the box office next year. Given the budget, cast, and director involved, the hope is that it’ll join the upper echelons of Ancient Greek retellings in pop culture.