You've Already Seen a Great Adaptation of The Odyssey And Didn't Even Realize It

As fans digest the news that Christopher Nolan’s next movie is an adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, many are looking to a more recent story to ground their understanding of this epic. Fortunately, we have the widely beloved 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Coen brothers’ musical dramedy was a loose satire of the Oddysey, which may help many fans wrap their heads around this dated tale.

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Nolan’s next project has been mired in mystery for months now, while details like the cast list and shooting schedule have gradually leaked out. On Monday, Universal abruptly announced: “Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.”

Historians believe the Odyssey was written in approximately the 8th Century BCE, and they consider it one of the most important foundational works of Western literature. It is about an ancient Greek hero named Odysseus, King of Ithica, and his journey home after the Trojan War. Along the way he encounters powerful enemies and temptations, but he is guided by his desire to reunite with his wife, Penelope.

Elements of this story have been utilized in many creative works over the last two millennia — perhaps every creative work, depending on how broad of a view you take. However, for most film buffs, O Brother, Where Art Thou? might be one of the simplest, most approachable modern “adaptations” of Homer’s Odyssey. It doesn’t tell exactly the same story point by point, but it comes close enough in modern terms to give you the idea. It also has surprisingly overt references to the original Greek epic.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

For one thing, the main character, Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) bears the Romanized name of Odysseus. His fellow prison escapees, Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) stand in for Odysseus’ soldiers, who travel with him from Troy to Ithica. Big Dan Teague (John Goodman) corresponds to the cyclops Polyphemus that they encounter on their journey, while the radio station manager Mr. Lund (Stephen Root) corresponds to Homer himself. Ulysses’ wife, Penny (Holly Hunter) corresponds to Penelope, and Vernon T. Waldrip (Ray McKinnon) stands in for the many suitors of Penelope in the original tale.

Two other important characters from the Odyssey don’t even have their names changed — the Blind Seer (Lee Weaver) is also called Tiresias in Greek, while the “three sirens” (Mia Tate, Musetta Vander, Christy Taylor) go unnamed altogether. Then there are the stand-ins for Greek gods — Sheriff Cooley (Daniel von Bargen) corresponds to Poseidon, while Pappy O’Daniel (Charles Durning) stands in for Zeus. Curiously, Pappy’s real first name is Menelaus, though he does not seem to have much in common with the Odyssey character by the same name.

Other Adaptations

For those curious, there are other modern works that are considered loose adaptations of Homer’s Odyssey you can check out. They include Star Trek: Odyssey, Cold Mountain, Keyhole, and just this year, The Return. Even The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is considered an adaptation of the Odyssey, and that’s always worth a rewatch — whether you’re brushing up for Nolan or not.

It sounds like Nolan is going for a more direct adaptation of the original poem, which isn’t a new idea either. A film version called Ulysses was released in 1954, followed by Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules, among others. Meanwhile on TV, a 1997 American TV miniseries called The Odyssey is still shown in some history classes to this day.

Nolan’s Odyssey

The announcement that Nolan is adapting Homer’s Odyssey puts all the previous news about his movie into a new context. We already had an impressive cast list, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Charlize Theron. Tom Holland is reportedly in the cast, though he made headlines last week for revealing that didn’t know anything about the project, and so couldn’t spoil it even if he wanted to.

The movie is expected to begin filming in early 2025, and is likely coming to theaters in 2026. It’s unclear who is playing which role, as some reports said Holland was the “lead” in the movie, but now fans are unsure. We’ll have to wait and see for ourselves, but in the meantime, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is streaming now on Hulu.