Just days before Christopher Nolan's star-studded epic The Odyssey arrives in cinemas across Europe, a London-based AI startup has announced its own version of Homer's ancient poem. The move has been met with widespread derision from film lovers and industry professionals alike.
Odysseus: The Fall is a 135-minute AI-generated film produced by Ash Koosha, a content creator backed by Fountain O, which bills itself as “the leading AI movie studio.” Koosha previously generated a docudrama titled Dreams Of Violets, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and sparked debate over the ethics of using AI to depict real human suffering.
Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of Tribeca, defended that film's inclusion, calling it “a powerful example of how emerging technologies like AI can be used not simply as tools of innovation, but as vehicles for deeply human storytelling.” Critics, however, argued that a story about Iranian civilians told without human actors or crew lacked genuine empathy.
Timing and Intent
Koosha has described his new project as “one man's collaboration with AI.” In a statement, he said: “We very much hope that Christopher Nolan's film, The Odyssey, is a raging success at the box office, and in some way that our version of the journey of Odysseus might further that success by bringing to theaters those who might not otherwise come out to see the film, simply because they are curious to see the ultimate in human creation and compare it to one man's collaboration with AI.”
He argued that storytellers should not feel threatened by AI tools: “It's a threat to nothing except distance, the distance between a person with a story and the means to tell it. More films will be made this way; that seems certain to me, the way it was certain once that anyone would be able to shoot on the camera in their pocket. What has to survive the change is the only thing that ever mattered: the story, and the reason for telling it. A tool has never made a film worth watching. A person with something urgent to say has made every one of them, and that won't change, whatever they're holding when they say it.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Odysseus: The Fall cost a mid-five-figure sum, a fraction of the reported $250 million budget for Nolan's film. Fountain O plans to release the AI version on its website this summer for a fee.
Reactions and Criticism
Social media users have been quick to condemn the project. One X user called it “rancid slop,” while another described it as an “AI parasite.” The trailer reveals stilted dialogue, emotionless characters, and visual oddities such as bleeding ships and a character that appears to be a knock-off of Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.
Nolan himself has weighed in on the broader issue of AI in cinema. In a recent interview, the Oscar-winning director said he has noticed a “rapid wholesale dismissal of a supposedly foundational jump in technology” among younger filmmakers. He added that his four children have an “immediate and harsh” reaction to AI-generated content: “Their judgment of AI slop has been immediate and harsh. They see it for what it is very quickly – and it's much easier for them to identify it, because it grew out of an online world they know really well. And while that doesn't mean that every aspect of the technology is useless or meaningless, in filmmaking it's hitting at exactly the wrong time.”
Nolan argued that after years of heavily virtual environments, there is a renewed interest in tactile, real forms of storytelling. His comments echo a broader sentiment across Europe, where filmmakers and audiences alike are increasingly questioning the role of AI in creative industries.
For more on Nolan's views, see our earlier report: Christopher Nolan: Younger Generation 'Utterly Rejecting' AI in Filmmaking.
The original Odyssey recounts the hero's perilous journey home after the Trojan War, featuring iconic episodes such as the Sirens, the Trojan horse, and the Cyclops. Nolan's adaptation stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, and Lupita Nyong'o. The casting of Nyong'o as Helen of Troy has drawn criticism from right-wing figures, including Elon Musk, who objected to a Black actress playing a mythological figure considered the most beautiful woman in the world. Nolan dismissed such pre-release backlash, saying: “These conversations that happen before people see the film - they're always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.”
As the debate over AI in cinema intensifies, the release of Odysseus: The Fall serves as a timely reminder of the tensions between technological innovation and traditional craftsmanship. For a broader look at this week's cultural highlights, including Nolan's film, see: Gracie Abrams, 'The Odyssey' and Ana Mendieta: This Week's Cultural Highlights Across Europe.
