Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey may be dominating the box office, but one of the film’s most outspoken critics isn’t backing down. Instead, Elon Musk is now promising to make his own version of Homer’s epic—using artificial intelligence—and says he’d even be willing to bankroll an entirely separate adaptation from Braveheart and The Passion of The Christ director Mel Gibson.
These latest comments represent another escalation in Musk’s months-long criticism of Nolan’s adaptation, which has become one of Hollywood’s biggest films of the year despite controversy surrounding several of its casting decisions.
Elon Musk Says Grok Will Create Its Own Odyssey
On X, Musk shared a three-minute AI-generated scene depicting Odysseus and the nymph Calypso created with Grok Imagine before making an even bolder promise.
Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer https://t.co/bVHzUmY9WN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2026
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“Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer,” Musk said.
He later doubled down with another post declaring: “Grok Imagine Odyssey will be 🔥🔥”
Whether Grok Imagine can actually generate a coherent feature-length film by the end of the year remains to be seen. Current AI video tools have made rapid advances, but maintaining consistent characters, performances, environments, and storytelling over a feature-length runtime remains one of the industry’s biggest technical challenges.
Still, Musk’s announcement is significant because it isn’t merely another AI demo. He’s publicly claiming his AI platform will produce a complete alternative to one of Hollywood’s biggest films.
Musk Also Says He’s “Down” to Fund Mel Gibson’s Version
Musk didn’t stop with AI.
After one X user suggested Musk give Mel Gibson $100 million to direct a painstakingly authentic adaptation featuring historically accurate ships, armor, weapons, dialogue drawn directly from Homer, and even spoken Homeric Greek, Musk responded with a simple reply.
I’m down
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2026
“I’m down,” he said.
It is important to note that this is not an announced project. There is currently no indication Gibson has been approached, no production company attached, no script, and no financing deal.
However, Musk’s willingness to publicly endorse the idea demonstrates that he sees room for another adaptation built around a very different creative philosophy than Nolan’s blockbuster.
A Long-Running Dispute Over The Odyssey
Musk’s comments did not emerge from nowhere.
Months before Nolan’s film reached theaters, Musk criticized the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, arguing the decision sacrificed historical authenticity. He also criticized Christopher Nolan directly, claiming the Oscar-winning filmmaker had “lost his integrity.”
Lupita Nyong’o in an interview for The Odyssey – Universal
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Those comments quickly became one of the internet’s biggest flashpoints surrounding the film’s release, helping fuel an ongoing debate over whether adaptations of ancient historical and mythological settings should prioritize historical authenticity or modern casting philosophies.
Rather than letting the conversation fade after the movie’s successful opening weekend, Musk has now attempted to move it into an entirely different arena by proposing an AI-generated alternative.
Colman Domingo Mocks Musk on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Predictably, Musk’s announcement also drew criticism from Hollywood.
Guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live, actor Colman Domingo ridiculed Musk’s promise of a “historically accurate” AI adaptation.
According to Domingo: “Of course, this is all because Elon and his musketeers are upset over the diversity casting of The Odyssey. And I don’t want to get technical here, but you can’t make a historically accurate version of something that is totally made-the-f–k-up.”
He followed that by joking: “The Odyssey is fiction… like The Hunger Games or the president’s cognitive exams.”
Lupita N’yongo and Elliot Page in the trailer for The Odyssey along with the video’s like to dislike ratio – YouTube, Universal Pictures
Domingo’s criticism echoes a common response from Musk’s critics—that Homer’s epic is mythology rather than documented history, making claims of historical accuracy inherently problematic.
However, supporters of Musk’s position have generally framed the debate differently. Rather than arguing the supernatural events should be treated as literal history, they argue that the human cultures, clothing, architecture, geography, military equipment, and ethnic populations depicted in adaptations should still reflect the civilizations that produced the story. This is a concept, it should be noted, that Musk’s critics support when the project is something like Moana.
That distinction has become one of the central fault lines in the broader debate surrounding Nolan’s adaptation.
AI Versus Hollywood
Regardless of where audiences land on the casting controversy, Musk’s announcement raises another interesting question.
Can AI eventually compete with traditional Hollywood filmmaking?
Christopher Nolan has previously expressed skepticism about AI replacing filmmakers, arguing audiences remain quick to reject obviously AI-generated content.
Musk clearly believes otherwise.
Elon Musk via AutismCapital on X
Rather than simply criticizing Nolan’s adaptation, he’s effectively proposing two competing futures for adapting classic literature: one powered by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and another potentially rooted in practical filmmaking and historical reconstruction under a director like Mel Gibson.
Whether either project ever materializes remains uncertain.
But after spending months criticizing The Odyssey, Musk has now signaled he isn’t content with simply commenting from the sidelines. He’s openly suggesting that if Hollywood won’t produce the version he wants to see, he’ll try to make it himself.
How do you feel about the ongoing issues between Elon Musk and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey? Sound off and let us know!
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