Tell Us, O Muse, of Elon Musk's Racist AI Version of "The Odyssey"
The tech billionaire denounced Christopher Nolan's blockbuster, vowing to create his own feature-length film using Grok.
As audiences flock to theaters to watch Christopher Nolan's reimagining of Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War, Elon Musk has begun waging a battle of his own against the director. Taking to X on July 21, Musk promised to use his AI platform, Grok Imagine, to create his own full-length version of The Odyssey by the end of this year.
Vowing to produce a movie "that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer," the tech billionaire included a link to a three-minute scene from another X user's Grok-generated Odyssey movie.
Alongside an army of other discontented X users, Musk has aired his grievances with the filmmaker for weeks. "Chris Nolan desecrated the Odyssey so that he would be eligible for an Academy Award," Musk wrote on May 15. One week later, under a post disparaging actress Lupita Nyong'o in her dual role, where she will play sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, he commented, "Chris Nolan is an anti-White racist."
Amid other claims that Nolan "has lost his integrity" over his casting choices and "shown total contempt for the Greek people," Musk has interacted with transphobic posts about Elliot Page, who plays Sinon in The Odyssey. When incorrect rumors circulated that Page would be cast as Achilles in May, the Tesla cofounder wrote, “one of the dumbest and twisted things I’ve ever heard 🤡🤡.”
Musk has openly expressed his appreciation for Homer, having included the ancient poet's works in his recommended audiobook lists and once written, "Love the Iliad and Odyssey," on X in 2023.
While Musk has expressed allegiance to Homer's texts, the former trillionaire has also praised movie renditions of Homer's epics that take creative liberties, such as Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (2004). Inspired by the Iliad, Troy contains its own deviations from the original text: Patroclus is recast as Achilles' cousin; Hector kills Menelaus, conflating his appearance in The Odyssey; and Andromache and her son escape Troy instead of suffering the horrific death penned by Homer.
Despite the online protests led by Musk and other conservative commentators like Matt Walsh, Nolan's Odyssey has been a hit at the box office since it arrived in theaters on July 17. It grossed over $300 million worldwide in its first week in theaters, surpassing the earnings that Nolan's earlier films, including Oppenheimer (2023) and The Dark Night (2008), made in their first box office week.
As Musk's promise awaits follow-through, many have jumped to Nolan's defense. Several X users have labeled Musk's plans racist, and others have pointed out the irony that an AI-generated film would do no better job at casting Greek actors. On Jimmy Kimmel Live! last Wednesday, guest-host and actor Colman Domingo said of Musk, "By 'historically accurate,' he means whiter than Christmas at Cracker Barrel."
