Christopher Nolan fulfilled a long-held wish with his film adaptation of the Odyssey. He knew exactly how he wanted to shoot a particular scene for many years.
When one thinks of the Odyssey, the different stages that Odysseus has to overcome during his wanderings probably come to mind first. The Cyclops or the Sirens, for example. However, it was another image that had occupied Christopher Nolan long before his adaptation: the Trojan Horse.
Even before Odysseus sets out on his journey home, he has the idea to have a horse built during the conquest of Troy. He hides himself and his men inside it, allowing them to get behind the secured city walls within the supposed gift.
Nolan was adamant about including the scene in the film, especially because he was close to shooting it over 20 years ago. However, not in a film titled The Odyssey.
A Difficult Task
Why was the horse so important? It is important to know that Nolan had come into contact with the mythological source material as early as the 2000s. He was actually a hot candidate for the director’s position for the film Troy.
In an interview with Independent, he explained that the central scene with the Trojan Horse occupied his mind significantly. No wonder, as it represents the turning point in the story and leads to victory over Troy:
I have thought a lot about the Trojan Horse and how I could represent it and make it believable. I have had this image of the horse sinking into the sand in my mind for 20 years.
Unfortunately, nothing came of Nolan’s Troy. Instead, the German director Wolfgang Petersen staged the material. He had initially conceptually supervised the film but was supposed to direct a movie named Batman vs. Superman. When that was canceled by the studio Warner Bros., he returned to Troy.
Pity for Nolan, who had to turn to other projects. Good for us, as we received the first part of the Batman trilogy as a result. Nevertheless, the Trojan Horse remained in the director’s mind until he was finally able to bring his version to the big screen. Although under a different title, at least.
The result is typically Nolan – caution, slight spoiler: Unlike, for example, in Petersen’s adaptation, the horse is not conveniently upright directly in front of the city gates. No, in Nolan’s version, the horse is partly stuck in the sand, has no wheels or anything like that, and is quite massively built. The Trojans have great difficulty dragging it into the city.
And since the director is known for avoiding visual effects as much as possible, he had a horse built that is about 10 meters tall and weighs almost 4 tons (via Variety). Good luck moving that thing.
In the end, Nolan’s dream came true, and he was able to bring his version of the horse to the screen. The result is impressive and fits well with the director’s dedication. An Easter egg in the film has already excited fans: In Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, there is a reference to GenZ’s favorite musical
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