'The Odyssey' and the Limits of Online Outrage

Christopher Nolan's new film “The Odyssey” opened last week to positive reviews and strong ticket sales, securing its position as a “box office smash.” In the months leading up to its release, press and promotional coverage focused on Nolan's IMAX artistry, record-breaking ticket demand, and an all-star cast led by Matt Damon. But for right-leaning communities on social media, a different story was taking shape around the casting of Black and LGBTQ actors in a story of Greek mythology.

At Graphika, we analyze how online backlash campaigns develop and, more importantly, whether they actually matter. A perceived controversy can generate significant engagement within one online community while having little impact elsewhere. By examining how narratives spread across communities, which influential accounts amplify them, and whether they remain contained or spread into broader audiences, we help organizations distinguish between online outrage and reputational risks that warrant a response. The failure of the backlash campaign behind “The Odyssey” provides a useful case study of that distinction.

A 3,000-Year-Old Epic, a 21st-Century Backlash

In recent years, casting decisions have become the focal point of online culture-war flashpoints. Similar controversies surrounded Disney's 2023 live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” after the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel, with some U.S. audiences opposing a Black actor in the role and negative online campaigns by audiences in South Korea and China coinciding with low box office returns. In 2025, actor Rachel Zegler faced backlash for her starring role in “Snow White” since her Colombian heritage did not fit the expectations in conservative circles that the princess be white. In Graphika’s report From Consumers to Culture Wars, we document how Netflix experienced backlash related to airing LGBTQ+ content, with X owner Elon Musk (237.5 million followers) urging users to cancel their Netflix subscriptions. During this period, Netflix experienced a temporary dip in its share price.

Fast forward to spring 2026, the Hollywood Reporter confirmed Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o would play two roles in “The Odyssey.” Around the same time, rumors circulated that Elliot Page would play Achilles. Both actors became the targets of online attacks. Right-wing influencer Matt Walsh (4 million followers) shared a screenshot of the Hollywood Reporter announcement, commenting that Nolan was scared of being called “racist” if he cast a white woman in the role. Criticism of Page focused on the actor's gender identity. These criticisms fueled calls to boycott the movie altogether.

U.S. right-leaning pop culture commentators drove most opposition on X. Criticism of the casting began to coalesce around claims such as the Greek City Times (30.1k followers) posting that “Diversity Without Greeks Is Not Diversity,” receiving 2.2k retweets and over 600 replies, many of which criticized casting. Narratives of "Nolan’s DEI Odyssey” began taking hold. Musk posted that Nolan “desecrated the Odyssey,” while GlobalBoxOffice (28.5k followers) framed dislike counts for the film’s trailer on YouTube as proof of public revolt.

The main counterweight for these narratives came from communities of entertainment professionals. On May 21, Nyong’o addressed the backlash to her casting in an interview with Variety, receiving over 5k likes and 500 quote posts on X. “This is a mythological story…Our cast is representative of the world,” Nyong’o said.

As the movie’s release date approached, posts defended the adaptation as art rather than as identity politics, celebrating Nolan's “colossal achievement.” After the film’s release. Entertainment and finance communities on X amplified record AMC first-day sales and discussed ticket-buying scramble on Instagram. Even right-wing influencer Ben Shapiro praised the movie despite expressing reservations about the cast. Headlines claiming the movie “stormed the box office” at its global debut demonstrate that boycott narratives did not measurably affect ticket sales in the U.S. and abroad.

What Set the Backlash in Motion

Calls for boycott begin over casting
Right-leaning audiences, reactionary fandoms, and Greek-heritage users across X, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, Instagram, Truth Social, and Reddit called for a boycott of the movie over the reported casting of Black actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. These communities used hashtags that include #BoycottNolansOdyssey and #NotMyHelen while framing the reported casting as “woke,” arguing that it distorted Homer’s epic and erased Greek cultural identity.

Backlash narratives around Greek identity emerge
The backlash began in earnest on May 7, when Greek-heritage X account Maria Kalantze quote-posted the official trailer and called to “BOYCOTT Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’” Kalantze argued that the reported casting of Nyong’o represented an “erasure of Greek and European history and identity.” While Kalantze has only roughly 9k followers, the post gained more than 2.3 million views.

Narratives shift to broader anti-”woke” themes
On May 10, the prominent right-leaning X account Robby Starbuck (865k followers) continued the backlash and shifted it into broader anti-“woke” and anti-trans criticism by quote-posting a Global Box Office post about the alleged casting of Nyong’o and Elliot Page as Achilles. Starbuck claimed the film would become “the biggest bomb” of Nolan’s career and commented that audiences could not take “a confused woman” playing Achilles seriously.

Outrage Trended. So Did Ticket Sales.

The conversation around “The Odyssey” illustrates how culture war narratives continue to land on movie casting decisions. While the backlash around the cast generated significant post volume, its visibility was driven disproportionately by a relatively small network of high-follower accounts that repeatedly amplified one another's messaging, creating the impression of a broader public consensus on the surface. But network analysis suggests otherwise. Following the film's release, audience and critic reactions eclipsed the culture-war discourse, demonstrating how ideologically concentrated online campaigns can have limited impact. In this case, praise of Nolan and his reputation as an auteur director, whose films “the left can find endorsement as easily as the right,” outpaced the casting criticism.