Christopher Nolan’s movie, Christopher Nolan has given audiences a glimpse of his 2026 movie The Odyssey, which adapts the titular epic poem by Homer. As a ionate Greek mythology fan, I’m excited to see how Nolan brings this story to the big screen.

An excellent film for Christopher Nolan to reference when creating The Odyssey is the 2004 film Troy, starring Brad Pitt. Troy is an entertaining film that captures the grandiose, epic feeling of Homer’s writing. The film is beautifully choreographed and displays excellent attention to detail when it comes to cultural accuracy. The Odyssey’s massive budget will allow the creative team to make a film of the same scale and detail. However, Christopher Nolan’s 2026 film must diverge from Troy in one massive way, avoiding the film’s biggest mistake.

Christopher Nolan's Odyssey Needs The Greek Gods

The Odyssey (2026) Needs To Correct The Mistake Of Troy (2004)

Although Brad Pitt's Troy technically worked as a story without the gods and goddesses, it was a huge mistake to consider it an adaptation of The Illiad. Separate from the source material, Troy is a fun movie. However, the film not only changes fundamental parts of the characters, but it also leaves out the Greek gods and goddesses. The latter choice feels criminal to anyone who enjoys Homer’s epic poems, and it caused numerous negative film reviews.

Although many consider Christopher Nolan’s film a quasi-sequel to Troy, The Odyssey cannot make the same mistake as Brad Pitt’s Troy. The 2026 epic must integrate the Greek gods and goddesses into the story instead of stripping the source material of a core element. It feels intrinsically wrong to adapt a Greek myth without these characters, and their inclusion would give the film more reach. Greek mythology remains popular because these deities are morally complex and reflect the human condition.

Why Brad Pitt's Troy Did The Illiad Without The Gods

Screenwriter David Benioff Thought Homer Would The Decision

The decision to leave the Greek gods and goddesses out of Troy is perplexing, considering they’re present throughout The Illiad. Many publications and audience have speculated over the past two decades about the reason why Brad Pitt’s Troy didn’t include the gods, saying he wanted a more grounded, human-centric perspective on the war. However, the only reliable source I could find that provides quotations from the creative team about the lack of gods and goddesses in Troy comes from a 2004 article in The Globe and Mail.

Screenwriter David Benioff told the publication, “[Homer] was such a genius in writing for his contemporaries with depth and poetry and the entertainment. It's very, very good. I think if he would have looked down on us today, I think that he would smile, and he would say: ‘Take the gods out.’” He then quipped that he would get struck down by Zeus for not including him in Troy, which, in all fairness, fits with the god’s characterization in Greek mythology.

No matter his reasoning, Benioff’s decision weakened the depiction of the Trojan War, which heavily involved deities from Greek mythology.

Unfortunately, this interview doesn’t provide a concrete answer about his mindset when making the decision. His statement implies that he thinks Greek gods and goddesses aren’t contemporary, which ignores that their stories have remained popular for many millennia. Additionally, the statement that Homer would’ve been okay with the modernization feels questionable. Ultimately, it doesn't matter why he chose to cut the characters, though. No matter his reasoning, Benioff’s decision weakened the depiction of the Trojan War, which heavily involved deities from Greek mythology.

The Gods Are Crucial To The Odyssey (Without Distracting Away From Odysseus)

The Odyssey Includes Depictions Or Mentions Of Around 15 Different Gods And Goddesses

The Trojan War in The Illiad can technically exist – albeit boringly – without the gods because it’s an ancient historical war epic at its core. The god and goddess meddling is important, but it's less central than the battles. However, every part of The Odyssey involves a god, goddess, or monster. Most of the monsters also connect back to the gods, like Polyphemus, the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon. Around 15 gods and goddesses appear or are discussed in The Odyssey by Homer.

Though many of them can be removed from an adaptation without significantly impacting the story, at least five gods need to exist as characters in The Odyssey for the story to work:

• Athena
• Poseidon
• Hermes
• Calypso
• Circe

In reality, The Odyssey is just as much about the gods as the titular hero. Although he can’t change Odysseus’ fate to return home, Poseidon is a petty jerk who decides to make the journey as difficult, long, and painful as possible. The lesser goddesses/witches Calypso and Circe make Odysseus’ voyage hard as well. On the other hand, Athena is Odysseus' patron saint, and her goal is to help him return home safely. Hermes also steps in on three occasions to help the hero.

If Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey removed all references to these five gods, the story would be a war hero and his crew sailing across the sea to Ithica. No major conflict would exist. Odysseus wouldn’t overcome his obstacles. Ultimately, the director would be better off taking creative liberties that don’t involve removing the gods and goddesses. There are many ways to be creative with the story that don’t fundamentally alter The Odyssey.