Lightning does strike twice sometimes. Thank Zeus, Christopher Nolan has done it again with his epic sword and sandals adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. After the enormous critical, awards, and box office success of his last film, Oppenheimer (2023), it’s hard to believe that Nolan could have immediately followed with an even bigger hit. But, with a $124 million domestic opening weekend and a worldwide total of $640 million to date, it appears that he has.

With a new movie this big and all three of our regular co-hosts going on vacation at different times, we decided that not one but two episodes dedicated to The Odyssey were in order. In this first one, Greg and I focus on how Nolan has adapted and modernized Homer’s epic poem, with a deep dive on Odysseus as a character, the modern themes Nolan uses the ancient story to emphasize, our favorite scenes, the stacked cast, and everything else the film prompted us to consider. Greg specialized in the epic as a literary genre and is extremely familiar with Homer’s text, so he was an amazing resource throughout this episode. For more of his thoughts, check out his Substack for this great article he wrote for those who didn’t have time to read The Odyssey before seeing Nolan’s film.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 25:46 minute mark. If you wish to sail around spoilers, you can listen safely until then.

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