Filmmaker Christopher Nolan was hired to direct the 2004 historical epic Troy, nearly two decades before donning the director’s hat for The Odyssey, he said in a recent interview.
“I was originally hired by Warner Bros to direct Troy. Wolfgang (Petersen) had developed it, and so when the studio decided not to proceed with his superhero movie (Batman Vs Superman), he wanted it back,” Nolan said in a recent interview.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker said he has long been drawn to Homer’s Greek epic.
“At the end of the day, it was a world that I was very interested to explore. So it’s been at the back of my mind for a very long time. Certain images, particularly. How I wanted to handle the Trojan horse, things like that,” the Interstellar director said.
Warner Bros. eventually chose Petersen to direct Troy and offered him Batman Begins as a “consolation prize”, Nolan told Empire magazine.
Troy featured an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, Rose Byrne, Saffron Burrows and Orlando Bloom.
Nolan last directed the 2023 biographical drama Oppenheimer, revolving around American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
The Odyssey, Nolan’s next feature, is slated for release on 17 July, 2026. The ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Jon Bernthal.