The right has landed on its next Hollywood target.
The Odyssey, the forthcoming summer blockbuster from Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan, which depicts the fictional events of the eponymous Greek epic, was the subject of a long-winded rant by Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Thursday evening over its “rewriting of history.”
Though the Trojan War, as described in the epic, really happened, there is no evidence that any of its characters actually existed. Still, Finnerty, 44, complained on his show, “The role of Achilles will reportedly be played by Elliot Page. Looks like a guy—formerly Ellen Page, meaning the most famous warrior in history, not just Greek history—all of history—Achilles is about to be played by a transgender woman in a brand new movie.”
Elliot Page’s role in the film has not been confirmed. Other confirmed cast members include Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita N’yongo, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron, among others.
The host had more gripes about Nolan’s choice to cast N’yongo, 39, as Helen of Troy.
“A woman who was definitely white is going to be played by Lupita Nyong’o,” he added. “I’ve got nothing against Lupita. But I do have a problem with the complete rewriting of history. Helen of Troy was not Black. That’s not me being mean. That’s me telling the truth. The real actual truth, which we tend to do a lot of here, and Achilles was not a five-foot-one woman, but to the Left, this is all normal.”
Nyong’o, 43, who was named People magazine’s “Most Beautiful Woman” shortly after her Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for 12 Years a Slave in 2014, will also play Helen’s sister, Clytemnestra, Nolan confirmed.
Finnerty is just the latest on the right to complain about the castings, despite the film already having found ravenous interest among fans. The Odyssey sold out its most expensive IMAX tickets last July.
Elon Musk, 54, has been trolling Nolan and the film since rumors swirled about N’Yongo’s casting in January. After Nolan confirmed the news on Tuesday, Musk, who has been accused of manipulating the X algorithm to favor his posts, began replying “True” and reposting a series of posts denouncing the film and calling Nolan “racist” for casting the actress.
Musk also called Page’s alleged casting as Achilles “One of the dumbest and twisted things I’ve ever heard,” in a reply to an article reporting the rumor.
Over the next three days, he replied to or reposted more than a dozen posts criticizing the film, including one that suggested that the director was stomping on Homer’s grave.
Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh said the Oppenheimer director “knew” he would be called ”racist if he gave ‘the most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman.”
Nolan defended his casting process in an extensive interview with Time magazine, likening it to his previous blockbuster, Interstellar, which drew early criticism but is now considered largely scientifically accurate.
“For Interstellar, you’re looking at, ‘What is the best speculation of the future?’ When you’re looking at the ancient past, it’s actually the same thing,” Nolan said on Tuesday. “‘What is the best speculation and how can I use that to create a world?’”
“Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything,” he continued. “We had a lot of scientists complain about Interstellar. But you just don’t want people to think that you took it on frivolously.”
The Odyssey will release on July 17.
