Earlier this week, Universal Pictures offered the first look at Matt Damon as Odysseus в Christopher Nolan’s new movieand experts on the network were not slow to criticize — mostly in terms of «historical inaccuracies in the image of».
«The Odyssey» will apparently be based on Homer’s epic poem written between the 8th and 7th centuries BC, and will tell the story of the eponymous hero’s trials and tribulations journey home after the Trojan War in the hope of being reunited with his wife Penelope and their son Telemachus. The first shot of the movie offered a glimpse of Matt Damon in the title role (despite rumors that Tom Holland will play Odysseus) — wearing a helmet and armor, which, judging by the comments (via Games Radar), did not quite correspond to the technical capabilities of the time.
«The action takes place in the era (also known as the Mycenaean period) around 1200 BC, so helmets were made of boar tusks, not in the Corinthian style. The Corinthian helmet did not come into use until the Archaic period, around 700 BC», — the commentators lament.
This better not be for real 😤
The Odyssey is set during the age of heros (aka the Mycenaean period) some time around 1200 BC and so the helmets would have been of the boar tusk style, not the corinthian style. The corinthian helmet didn’t come into use until the Archaic period,… https://t.co/3falTjjTeQ pic.twitter.com/55mQt5Ssgn
— Mrs. Jones (@WeeboJones) February 18, 2025
«The Iliad literally describes Odysseus wearing a leather helmet decorated with boar tusks, but Hollywood will never be able to resist the temptation of a regular ancient helmet with a broomstick decoration. This helmet is like cocaine for costumers», — writes another user.
The background against which Damon was depicted also caused some controversy, as «antique buildings at that time were not supposed to be peeled». It is worth noting that the comments with criticism can be considered isolated, as potential viewers mostly liked the image.
«I really don’t care if the helmet worn by Matt Damon in the movie Odyssey is “historically inaccurate.” Breaking news: it’s fiction! It didn’t really happen!».
Nolan — is not the first director to face criticism for historical inaccuracy. The real record holder in this case is Ridley Scott, who has a whole body of «pseudo-historical films», but this year’s «Gladiator 2» seems to have surpassed all its predecessors: since the release of the first trailer historians have complained about the presence of paper newspapers or sharks in the Colosseum. Scott himself afterwards spoke quite clearly about the opinions of historians about his films:
«It always amuses me when a critic says to me: “That didn’t happen in Jerusalem.” I ask: “Have you been there?”».
Recall that «Odyssey», which will become the most expensive movie in Nolan’s careerwill be released in theaters on July 17, 2026, and in addition to Damon and Holland to the cast Benny Safdie, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Will Yun Lee, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, Mia Gott, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron joined the cast.
It is worth noting that Homer’s epic poem has been adapted for the screen many times: in 1954, the movie «Ulysses» starring Kirk Douglas was released; «Odyssey» also inspired the Coen brothers’ film «O, Where Art Thou, Brother?» (2000); similarly, the story of the Trojan War appeared on the screens in the movie «Troy» (2004), where Brad Pitt played Achilles and Sean Bean — Odysseus (by the way, Nolan was among the candidates for the director’s chair).
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: