The Biggest Things The Odyssey Leaves Out: 4 Nolan Should've Kept & 4 He Was Right To Cut

Published Sep 6, 2026, 6:25 PM EDT Shawn S. Lealos is an entertainment writer who is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has written for Screen Rant, CBR, ComicBook, The Direct, The Sportster, Chud, 411mania, Renegade Cinema, Yahoo Movies, and many more. Shawn has a bachelor's degree in professional writing and a minor in film studies from the University of Oklahoma. He also has won numerous awards, including several Columbia Gold Circle Awards and an SPJ honor. He also wrote Dollar Deal: The Story of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers, the first official book about the Dollar Baby film program. Shawn is also currently writing his first fiction novel under a pen name, based in the fantasy genre. To learn more, visit his website at shawnlealos.net. When Christopher Nolan put together his adaptation of The Odyssey, there were several changes to Homer's poem that he had to make for it to fit into a logical running time. At the same time, there were other changes that Nolan had to make because some of the things written in the over 2,500-year-old poem wouldn't work as well today, and some of the items took something away from Odysseus' story about his journey home. Nolan did something right, and his decision-making resulted in a movie that earned a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and an even higher 97% from the audience. The Odyssey was also a major box-office success, making $1.56 billion worldwide and $575 million domestically. This was all in a movie that had a long running time of 2:52, just eight minutes short of the three-hour mark. With that long running time, there was still a lot that Nolan left out of the movie. The Odyssey skipped entire stops on Odysseus' journey home, removed several major characters from the movie, and even condensed one year into one day when it comes to one of the warrior's stops on his way back home. The Odyssey also changed the ending, but not all of these omissions were good. 8 Was Right to Cut: Zeus And Poseidon The first decision that Christopher Nolan made was to leave the antagonistic gods who were tormenting Odysseus out of the movie. Zeus and Poseidon were instrumental in the trials and turmoil of Odysseus and his crew as they attempted to make their way back home. However, these gods are only mentioned by name and hinted at through the disasters inflicted upon Odysseus. This is smart. The entire theme of the movie is faith and these men following their beliefs. The crew believes that Odysseus has angered the gods, and that is why they turn on him. Odysseus is shocked that people won't follow the laws of Zeus. The fact that these gods are mentioned but never shown is important to keep the idea of following these beliefs, even without actual proof. 7 Should Have Kept: The Underworld Featuring Achilles Nolan made a change to the Underworld sequence, which he set up early in the movie with an original moment that wasn't in Homer's poem. The Odyssey has a Greek soldier named Sinon sitting with the Trojan Horse and waiting. Sinon was not in Homer's poem, but was instead in Virgil's Aeneid. Sinon's death allowed the Trojan Horse to end up inside the enemy gates. It is Sinon who appears in the Underworld scene, whereas in Homer's poem, it was Achilles. There was also a moment in the poem where Hercules was there, as well as Ajax and even Odysseus' mother, Anticleia. These appearances showed the futility of war and what awaited Odysseus in the end. Nolan chooses to show the soldiers who blame Odysseus for not honoring them after their deaths, which works, but losing Achilles was a mistake. 6 Was Right to Cut: Odysseus' Year On Circe’s Island One of the most important things that Nolan left out of The Odyssey was the time that Odysseus spent on Circe's island. That is because the main theme of the movie is Odysseus returning home to his wife and son, and he doesn't want to let anything get in his way. His time on Circe's island in Homer's poem completely undermines the idea that Odysseus wants to get back to the only woman he loves. In the poem, Odysseus stays on Circe's island for a year as he works on getting her to turn his crew back into humans. While there, he slept with Circe, and the two of them even had a son. This would have completely undermined the theme that Odysseus only loves his wife. In fact, the movie also limits what it shows with Calypso and only hints at their time together, while ensuring he remembers nothing about his real life. The Circe scenes had to be cut. 5 Should Have Kept: The Leather Bag Of Wind The journey home is rife with troubles, and this happens for many reasons, including Odysseus' arrogance and his crew's fear. There is one item in Homer's poem that really slams this idea home, and Nolan leaves it out of his movie. In the poem, Odysseus receives a divine gift from Aeolus, the keeper of the winds. This is the Leather Bag of Wind, which would lead Odysseus and his crew straight home to Ithaca. This would have worked too, if not for Odysseus' crew. When Odysseus falls asleep, his crew believes that the bag contains hidden gold and silver that Odysseus is hiding from them. Because of their greed, they open it and release the trapped storms inside, and it blows them all the way back to Aeolus' island, where Aeolus refuses a second bag. Most of the crew's struggles are because of Odysseus, and keeping this scene would have shown that the crew was just as responsible. 4 Was Right to Cut: Telemachus Executes 12 Handmaidens Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection When Odysseus returns home, he finds all the suitors who have invaded his home and are forcing Penelope to choose between them. He also knows that some of them had ordered his son's death, and his vengeance is swift. He strung his bow, which no one else in the room could, and this shows everyone who he is. He then murders every suitor except for those who bow to him and recognize him as their ruler. This is a huge moment and a great resolution to his story, but Homer's poem added one extra bit that would have completely ruined that moment. Odysseus' son, Telemachus, grows a lot in the movie, and he is ready to become a ruler himself. However, in the poem, he murdered 12 handmaids because he considered them disloyal for sleeping with the suitors and disrespecting the household. Odysseus' rampage seemed justified, but Telemachus took it too far in the poem. 3 Should Have Kept: The Olive Tree Bed Via MovieStillsDB There was one big thing that Nolan cut out of his version of The Odyssey that seemed like it would have been easy to include without distracting from his story. In the poem, Odysseus created a bed frame from a giant olive tree. The entire home surrounds the tree, and this means that the bed is immovable. This plays as a symbol for their marriage's strength and resilience. There is even a point in the poem where Penelope asks Odysseus to move the bed, knowing it can't be done. This is a test for him, and it is one that he passes because Odysseus understands the bed's significance. This wasn't integral to the story, but it wouldn't have been hard to include, with the only problem being the cost of building the bed and the structure to show its immovable nature. 2 Was Right to Cut: Odysseus Reclaiming The Throne Credit: Everett Collection The movie made a huge statement when Nolan eliminated the idea that Odysseus reclaimed the throne in Homer's poem. In the poem, Odysseus killed all the suitors, which would have led to him being banished or otherwise punished by the families in his kingdom whose members he had just slaughtered. However, Homer never made him face the consequences, and Odysseus reclaimed his throne. Nolan knew that wasn't a good decision and changed it in the movie. Instead of reclaiming the throne, Odysseus knew that killing all the suitors wouldn't allow him to reclaim his throne, and he faced exile instead. The movie ended with Odysseus and Penelope leaving together in exile to see the world, while Telemachus claimed the throne. Telemachus couldn't have done this if he had killed the handmaidens, so these were great changes for two reasons. 1 Should Have Kept: The Nobody Trick Odysseus and his men were trapped by a Cyclops early in the movie and in Homer's poem. In the movie, they thought the Cyclops would greet them with hospitality as Zeus commanded, but when the monster began to eat the crew, Odysseus knew they had to fight back. They attacked him and blinded him and then escaped before Odysseus shot the Cyclops with an arrow, cursing his crew since the Cyclops was Poseidon's son. However, in Homer's poem, this played out a little differently, and it was very clever. Odysseus lied to the Cyclops and said his name was "Nobody." As they tortured the Cyclops and eventually blinded him, the other Cyclopes asked who was hurting him, and he said, "Nobody," so none of them helped him. In the end, Odysseus yelled out his real name when leaving, which gave the name that the Cyclops told his father, causing the curse. This should never have been eliminated from The Odyssey.