Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey may trade laboratories and nuclear dread for monsters, gods and storm-tossed ships, but Jon Stewart sees a surprising connection between the filmmaker’s latest epic and his Oscar-winning book-to-screen adaptation Oppenheimer. And the link goes beyond both of their titles beginning with an “O.” After hearing the late show host’s explanation, I am having trouble looking at Odysseus’ voyage as a simple adventure home, because Stewart makes some great points.
Jon Stewart Breaks Down His Theory About The Odyssey And Oppenheimer
During Nolan’s appearance on The Daily Show, Stewart admitted that his comparison might sound “far afield” before arguing that The Odyssey feels like a thematic sequel to Oppenheimer. Rather than connecting the movies through genre or plot, he focused on two men carrying the psychological weight of events that changed the world around them. Nolan’s response made it clear that Stewart had not wandered off course.
Stewart said the part of Oppenheimer that stayed with him was the burden J. Robert Oppenheimer must have felt after seeing what his work had created. He then connected that guilt to Odysseus returning from the Trojan War:
It felt like, in some respects, The Odyssey was a sequel to Oppenheimer. … What so stayed with me in that movie was the weight that Oppenheimer must have felt when he saw the reality of what he had created. And The Odyssey feels like a journey of a man reckoning with what he had done in war and what war does to men.
Nolan joked about avoiding “3,000-year-old spoilers,” but he otherwise agreed with Stewart’s reading. The director said Stewart watched his 2026 calendar release the way he intended and explained that his adaptation treats the Trojan War and Odysseus’ role in it with real “weight” and “gravity.”
Additionally, Nolan confirmed that the Cillian Murphy-led historical drama remained on his mind while making The Odyssey. The celebrated director said he tries to leave each project with questions he can continue exploring, adding that he “definitely brought Oppenheimer into this movie.”
That may be the clearest explanation yet of why Nolan followed a historical drama about the atomic bomb with his interpretation of Homer’s mythic poem. On the surface, the projects appear to be at opposite ends of Nolan’s illustrious filmography. Beneath the spectacle, both appear interested in what happens after a man participates in something too large and destructive to fully understand.
Why I Think Stewart Is Onto Something
The comparison works because Odysseus is often remembered for the exciting stops along his journey. There is the Cyclops, the Sirens, Circe and a sea full of angry gods. Those episodes can easily turn the story into a greatest-hits tour of Greek mythology.
Stewart’s reading puts the wounded man back at the center. Odysseus is not merely delayed on his way home but is a soldier returning from a decade-long war, carrying memories of violence, lost friends and decisions that destroyed a city. Even the famous Trojan Horse (which got the popcorn bucket treatment) becomes less of a clever trick and more of a weapon whose consequences follow its creator.
That sounds very Christopher Nolan. Oppenheimer spends much of its runtime examining what happens after intellectual achievement becomes mass destruction. The Odyssey can ask a similar question through myth: What happens to the warrior after the war ends, and he’s left with regret, while the songs call him a hero?
I also like that this connection made by Jon Stewart gives Nolan’s film a reason to exist beyond its scale. Real ships, giant sets and an entire film shot with IMAX photography are exciting, but emotional fallout could keep the movie from becoming an expensive mythology slideshow.
The Odyssey opens in theaters July 17.
