Christopher Nolan has revealed the reasoning behind his controversial casting of Travis Scott in his highly- anticipated upcoming film The Odyssey.
The Oscar-winning director addressed the surprising casting choice in a new interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday, May 12, revealing that Scott’s role in the film was inspired by the tradition of oral storytelling found in ancient Greek culture.
“I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap,” Nolan said.
Scott, 35, appears in promotional television spots for the highly anticipated movie as a bard, a professional poet responsible for reciting stories and heroic tales. The rapper’s scenes appear to reference the events of the Trojan War, which plays a major role in the journey of Odysseus.
Although Scott has not appeared in the film’s two official trailers, his involvement quickly sparked discussion online after fans noticed him in early promotional footage.
This is not the first collaboration between Christopher Nolan and Travis Scott. The rapper previously worked with the filmmaker on the 2020 sci-fi thriller Tenet, contributing the song “The Plan” to the soundtrack.
The Odyssey features a star-studded cast including Tom Holland plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus, while Anne Hathaway is Odysseus’ wife Penelope. Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo, Lupita Nyong’o and Zendaya, among others, also star in the film.
The Odyssey is in theaters July 17.