'The Odyssey' trailer sparks criticism over accents and ‘daddy’ issues
Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming epic is dividing opinions. The latest trailer has sparked criticism over the use of modern terms and American accents, which seem at odds with the ancient Greek setting...
Published on 06/05/2026 - 10:42 GMT+2
The new trailer for The Odyssey is out, and as we reported yesterday, Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem features a lot of beards, a cute puppy, and plenty of darkness.
However, the trailer has been met with a barrage of criticism over something else: accents. Specifically, the American accents which feel ill-suited to the ancient Greek setting, and modern dialogue which also clashes with the source material.
Aside from Odysseus (Matt Damon) shouting “Let’s go!” as a battle cry at one point (no, just no), one line of dialogue seems to be rubbing everyone up the wrong way...
Antinous (Robert Pattinson), one of Penelope’s suitors, confronts Telemachus (Tom Holland) and says: “You’re pining for a daddy you didn’t even know, like some sniveling bastard.”
The use of the term “daddy” will doubtlessly spark memes, but so far it’s igniting disbelief.
“The American accents are incredibly jarring for a movie in this time period,” one person wrote on Reddit, with another saying: “For something as big as The Odyssey, you’d think they’d make the way the characters speak to each other sound less... modern?".
Some are criticising Nolan for the accent choice, especially since both Pattinson and Holland are British; others are giving the director the benefit of the doubt by suggesting that the modern dialogue is intentional. Still, reactions remain mixed.
Check out some of the comments below:
The Odyssey is Nolan’s first film since his Oscar winning 2024 film Oppenheimer.
Despite linguistic criticism, Elon Musk’s predictably nonsensical take and some shooting location drama, it remains one of the most anticipated movies of 2026. It is also the first film shot entirely on IMAX cameras.
In a recent interview with Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, Nolan noted that the Homeric epics have inspired many modern blockbusters – specifically modern comic book narratives.
"Even comic-book culture, whether you're talking about Marvel or DC or the rest, a lot of it comes pretty directly from the Homeric epics," he noted. "The thing about Homer is it's the Marvel of its day, I mean, that's the thing, and so I think there's very directly this desire for us to feel or believe that Gods can walk amongst us, and I think the modern comic book is kind of our expression of that."
He added: "The thing about Homer is nobody knows if that was a person, they don’t know, I mean, Homer, in a way, is the sort of George Lucas, maybe of his time. I mean, nobody really knows who this person was or whether it was more than one person."
The Odyssey hits cinemas worldwide on 17 July. Let's go?
