Christopher Nolan Shares Why He Chose Travis Scott for The Odyssey.
Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on May 12, 2026, 5:28 PM
Travis Scott's opening verse is not in The Odyssey. However, it does represent a major turning point in his acting career. The rapper from "Sicko Mode" was cast as a bard in the future film because of his musical experience, according to director Christopher Nolan.
https://youtu.be/6ONRf7h3Mdk?si=h4AzFY-yD7Lo1IBe
“I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry,” in a May 12 interview with Time, Nolan clarified, “which is analogous to rap.”
https://youtu.be/f_bKjZeJBBI?si=h6B5Myrq3WNDeV9x
Scott, who has two children, Stormi, 8, and Aire, 4, with his ex-girlfriend Kylie Jenner, hasn't talked much about his role in the new movie, although he did have a standout moment in a January trailer for The Odyssey. In order to tell Telemachus (Tom Holland) a tale about his father Odysseus (Matt Damon), he silences a boisterous mess hall.
“A war, a man, a trick—a trick to break the walls of Troy,” alongside pictures of the Trojan War, he booms. “It burning, screaming to the ground.”
Although this is Scott's first on-screen part in a Nolan film, he had previously composed a song for the Oscar winner's 2020 film Tenet. He has also had minor roles in the TV special Trolls: Holiday in Harmony and the movie Aggro Dr1ft. Additionally, he wrote a song for the Oscar winner's 2020 film Tenet, even though this is his first on-screen part in a Nolan film.
“His voice became the final piece of a yearlong puzzle,” at that moment, Nolan informed GQ. “His insights into the musical and narrative mechanism [composer] Ludwig Göransson and I were building were immediate, insightful, and profound.”
And those storytelling abilities will undoubtedly come in useful as he and the rest of the famous ensemble of The Odyssey—which includes Damon, Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, and more—take on this age-old epic.
https://youtu.be/mpm3abub6DA?si=UU6j0arfcRSHW6Tp
Nolan acknowledged that many classicists might not be entirely pleased with his vision, given the popularity of the Greek text. Nevertheless, the director of Inception requested that they give his upcoming movie a chance.
“Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film,” he said to Time, “even if they don’t agree with everything.”

Travis Scott's opening verse is not in The Odyssey. However, it does represent a major turning point in his acting career. The rapper from "Sicko Mode" was cast as a bard in the future film because of his musical experience, according to director Christopher Nolan.
“I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry,” in a May 12 interview with Time, Nolan clarified, “which is analogous to rap.”
Scott, who has two children, Stormi, 8, and Aire, 4, with his ex-girlfriend Kylie Jenner, hasn't talked much about his role in the new movie, although he did have a standout moment in a January trailer for The Odyssey. In order to tell Telemachus (Tom Holland) a tale about his father Odysseus (Matt Damon), he silences a boisterous mess hall.
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“A war, a man, a trick—a trick to break the walls of Troy,” alongside pictures of the Trojan War, he booms. “It burning, screaming to the ground.”

Although this is Scott's first on-screen part in a Nolan film, he had previously composed a song for the Oscar winner's 2020 film Tenet. He has also had minor roles in the TV special Trolls: Holiday in Harmony and the movie Aggro Dr1ft. Additionally, he wrote a song for the Oscar winner's 2020 film Tenet, even though this is his first on-screen part in a Nolan film.
“His voice became the final piece of a yearlong puzzle,” at that moment, Nolan informed GQ. “His insights into the musical and narrative mechanism [composer] Ludwig Göransson and I were building were immediate, insightful, and profound.”

And those storytelling abilities will undoubtedly come in useful as he and the rest of the famous ensemble of The Odyssey—which includes Damon, Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, and more—take on this age-old epic.
Nolan acknowledged that many classicists might not be entirely pleased with his vision, given the popularity of the Greek text. Nevertheless, the director of Inception requested that they give his upcoming movie a chance.

“Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film,” he said to Time, “even if they don’t agree with everything.”

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