Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey outraged conservatives after its diverse cast was revealed earlier this year, but now it looks like the uproar was much ado about nothing.
The star-studded fantasy epic was accused of being ‘woke’ after casting Black actresses Zendaya and Lupita Nyong’o, along with rapper Travis Scott and transgender actor Elliot Page.
Furious pearl-clutchers denounced the film before its release while right wing pundits like Megyn Kelly and Matt Walsh torched the blockbuster in fiery segments on their respective podcasts.
Elon Musk even accused Nolan of ‘desecrating’ Odyssey author Homer with his casting choices.
However, now that The Odyssey is in theatres, it turns out that the diverse cast members are barely even in the film.
Out of The Odyssey’s 172-minute runtime, Zendaya only appears for around two minutes.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey outraged conservatives after its diverse cast was revealed earlier this year, but now it looks like the uproar was much ado about nothing
Zendaya has about two minutes of screentime in the film, while Matt Damon appears in around 46 scenes
Sicko Mode hitmaker Scott is estimated to have a similar amount of screentime as Zendaya, if not less, while Nyong’o is said to appear in around three minutes of the film.
Page, for as much controversy as his role caused, is only in the movie for around five minutes.
The bulk of the film is focused on Matt Damon, who appears in a whopping 46 scenes according to Screenrant.
Tom Holland is the next most featured actor in The Odyssey, followed by Anne Hathaway.
Moviegoers have had a field day making fun of the backlash the film received, with one X user posting, ‘Conservatives started a culture war over Lupita just for her to have three minutes of screen time.’
Another wrote, ‘For all the craziness folks with racist loins had to say about Lupita’s casting in the Odyssey, her role is very minimal but powerful as hell.’
Progressive media outlet NowThis posted, ‘Conservative hosts are demanding historical accuracy from “The Odyssey,” a myth about giants, witches, and a cyclops.’
YouTuber Natalie Wynn wrote, ‘So, The Odyssey. Lol. It’s good, maybe Nolan’s best, and not even slightly “woke.” The right-wing hysteria is amazingly detached from reality.’
Transgender actor Elliot Page only has around five minutes of screentime despite his casting causing months of backlash online
Lupita Nyong’o is only in the film for a few minutes, despite her casting being called ‘woke’ by conservatives who wanted an all-white cast
Earlier this month, the official X account for The Odyssey was forced to restrict comments after conservatives bombarded it with complaints and racist comments regarding the film’s diverse cast members.
However, despite the early backlash, The Odyssey achieved a near-perfect score on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes shortly after its release.
The audience score is even higher than critics, with 97% of viewers giving the film a positive review.
The reviews for The Odyssey are almost universal in their soaring praise and five star ratings.
The Daily Mail’s Brian Viner declared that ‘Nolan’s film – its star-studded cast led by Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Zendaya – is a glorious cinematic experience, a triumph both of story-telling and movie-making.’
Viner added ‘I rarely say this of movies nearly three hours long – one viewing simply isn’t enough.’
In a five-star review, Metro’s Tori Brazier said, The Odyssey was ‘a watershed moment for filmmaking’.
Moviegoers and critics have had a field day making fun of the conservative culture war that the film sparked
Guy Lodge for Variety wrote that Nolan’s ‘take on Homer is thorough, robust and attentive both to scholarly detail and old-school moviemaking craft.’
Nolan’s movie of The Odyssey has been hotly anticipated for years, with an all-star cast including Damon as Odysseus and Hathaway as his wife Penelope.
Holland features as the couple’s son Telemachus, while his real-life wife and Spider-Man co-star Zendaya plays the goddess Athena.
Robert Pattinson plays the villainous role of Penelope’s suitor Antinous, with Charlize Theron and Samantha Morton respectively as the goddesses Calypso and Circe.
Jon Bernthal plays the Spartan king Menelaus and Benny Safdie has been cast as his brother Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae.
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