The teaser trailer to The Odyssey is out in theaters and has leaked online, and fans were quick to take to social media and complain about it.
Some viewers are criticizing the American accents in The Odyssey teaser trailer
Although the teaser trailer for The Odyssey doesn’t show too much footage, it has film fans excitedly chatting in anticipation of Nolan’s new epic. People were quick to note that dialogue in the film is mostly done with every actor’s normal accent. For instance, Tom Holland‘s Telemachus and Jon Bernthal speak normally with each other in a brief scene.
Despite the reaction from some on social media, the fact that The Odyssey may likely not feature anyone speaking in period-accurate accents shouldn’t really bother anyone. In fact, it almost doesn’t make much sense to get too mad about it, given who is involved in the film as a whole.
Why the criticism makes absolutely no sense
Fans were quick to point out that The Odyssey doesn’t feature voices that people typically associate with ancient Greek stories in the world of film. However, that familiarity is often clouded. Most of the time, when we think of old movies set in ancient Greece, we’re almost conditioned in a way to think of things like a British accent or something close to it, which in and of itself would not be any more authentic.
Movies like 300, Clash of the Titans, and more are usually seen as classics in the genre, and are known for their accents that, despite not being fully American, are also not authentically Greek. Striving for accuracy when it comes to ancient Greek accents is also a tough ask. Although we have a general idea of how the language sounded thanks to various words and pronunciations found over time, we have no exact way of knowing what an actual ancient Greek accent sounded like.
Outside of the historical and film aspect, Christopher Nolan deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this. Oftentimes in movies, style and performance are more important than a proper accent. Nolan’s history as one of the most revered filmmakers in the modern era points to the probable fact that he not only considered the accent issue in The Odyssey, but most likely chose to avoid going the route of full fake accents for a specific reason.
The Odyssey is set to release on July 17, 2026.
