NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 14: (L-R) Travis Scott, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Corey Hawkins, Tom Holland, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel and Jon Bernthal attend the premiere of “The Odyssey” presented by Universal Pictures on July 14, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)
The Odyssey is all anyone is talking about. It’s the biggest movie in the world right now and will likely land among the year’s most significant releases. Yet before the film even premiered, right-wing commentators spent considerable energy insisting Christopher Nolan had gone “woke” because he cast Black actors in prominent roles. But here’s the thing: did he really?
There are a few Black performers in the film, but they function like small chocolate chips scattered throughout a vanilla cookie. All the pre-release outrage seems aimed at a version of The Odyssey that never existed. Travis Scott may have delivered the first words on screen, but that amounts to the film’s Blackest moment, and it lasts roughly ten seconds. Christopher Nolan didn’t suddenly become Spike Lee. Let’s be honest about what’s actually happening.
Lupita Nyong’o, the actress whose casting sent certain corners of the internet into overdrive, appears in only a handful of scenes. She plays two roles with minimal screen time, and in one of them her face is disfigured. Corey Hawkins sticks around slightly longer, but mainly because he portrays one of the film’s most despicable characters. You’ll read Travis Scott’s name in the credits longer than you’ll watch him on screen. Zendaya receives just enough visibility to remind you she’s there, but spends her time looking miserable about something or other.
That’s the entire “woke takeover” people spent months complaining about. The version of The Odyssey conservatives invented in their heads contains far more Black representation than what Nolan actually delivered to theaters.
MAGA commentators convinced themselves Homer’s epic had been transformed into a cultural studies seminar when in reality, Nolan gave them what he’s been giving audiences for decades: a film as white as his sensibilities. Casting Nyong’o in a supporting role was enough to trigger months of panic about Western civilization crumbling.
They imagined The Odyssey had become Black Panther: Ithaca Forever. Instead, they got what they were always going to get: a Christopher Nolan movie.
Months of preparation for a culture war ended up fighting against a handful of Black cameos. If that’s what passes for “woke” in 2026, the bar isn’t just low. It’s buried somewhere under the ruins of Troy.
★TR★
