Christopher Nolan’s New Epic Movie Is Already Divisive Thanks to Robert Pattinson & Tom Holland

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is easily one of the most anticipated films of the summer. Tickets for IMAX screenings sold out a full year in advance, illustrating just how excited moviegoers are to see Homer’s epic story brought to life. Of course, the combination of high anticipation and legendary source material means The Odyssey is going to be under a great deal of scrutiny — even before it opens in theaters. The marketing campaign for The Odyssey is well underway, as a new trailer was recently released. While the footage showcases Nolan’s trademark sense of scope and scale, some viewers have taken issue with some lines of dialogue.

On social media, reactions to the latest Odyssey trailer have been pouring in. One of the biggest sticking points is the use of the words “daddy” and “dad,” spoken by Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, respectively. To some people, the presence of modern-day terminology comes across as jarring since The Odyssey is clearly a period piece set in ancient Greece. Check out a sampling of reactions in the space below:

The Odyssey Dialogue Shouldn’t Be Controversial

At first glance, it’s understandable why some people might have been thrown off by the dialogue choices in the Odyssey trailer. For instance, having Telemachus say “father” instead of “dad” feels more natural given the film’s aesthetic. Ultimately, however, this is not as big of a deal as some might make it seem. For starters, there appears to be a clear artistic reason for using this particular vernacular. As the last embedded tweet points out, Nolan’s writing is highlighting how young Telemachus is and how others view him as a boy. Antinous’ use of “daddy” is meant to be a taunt, putting Telemachus down. If anything, this exchange underscores the dynamic between these two characters, laying a foundation for Telemachus’ arc.

It’s also important to keep in mind that The Odyssey is a $250 million fantasy blockbuster being released to general moviegoers in 2026. All of the characters are speaking English and seem to have American accents, which, obviously, would not have been the case in ancient Greece. Nolan striving to make the most faithful and accurate adaptation possible is admirable, but you have to take into account the audience it’s being made for. The Odyssey is also a fictional story that features gods and monsters, so it’s not as if Nolan is making a docudrama, where using the terminology of the time period depicted might have been more of a necessity.

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Something else to consider is that this is just the trailer, and it’s possible some of the dialogue will be adjusted in the final cut. As most movie fans know, trailers are not always completely 100% representative of what happens in the film. The object of a trailer is to sell general audiences on the project. The Antinous/Telemachus exchange could just be a way to efficiently highlight their tenuous relationship, establishing the former as a key villain in the story. As unlikely as this might be, it’s nevertheless plausible the words “daddy” and “dad” may not even be said, which would make all of these debates moot in retrospect.

Ultimately, “daddy” and “dad,” assuming they’re in the final cut, should be small parts of an otherwise sweeping epic. If The Odyssey is actually as great as it looks, those two lines of dialogue should not be enough to completely derail the film. By all accounts, The Odyssey is going to deliver an IMAX experience unlike anything viewers have seen, complete with jaw-dropping set pieces and incredible visual effects. Suspension of disbelief is a vital part of the moviegoing experience, and if viewers are willing to accept Odysseus and his soldiers speaking in English, they can overlook a couple of words here and there.

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