‘Odysseus’ Movie To Be Like ’300 Meets Taken’
Apr 28, 2009 by Ross MillerA couple of days ago Screen Rant reported on the fact that Warner Bros. had won a fierce bidding war against Paramount for the rights …
A couple of days ago Screen Rant reported on the fact that Warner Bros. had won a fierce bidding war against Paramount for the rights to Odysseus, which retells the tale of the legendary Greek King.
We already have a basic outline for the film (given below), but we now also have some more details as to how the film might shape up: According to THR, the intent is to make a “sleepy swords-and-sandles epic but a bloody relentless revenge movie,” that is described as being like “300 meets Taken.“ Liebesman also revealed that he sees it being akin to the newest Rambo film in the sense that it’s, “where one guy just kicks a lot of ass.”
That certainly sounds like an interesting take on the tale…
The story, which was conjured by producer Gianni Nunnari in a meeting with Liebesman, is as follows:
“The story centers on the legendary hero Odysseus, famed king of Ithaca, who returns to his island after 20 years of fighting the Trojan Wars, only to find his kingdom under the brutal occupation of an invading force. Odysseus single-handedly defeats every last man and takes back his wife, his son and his kingdom.”
The spec script which was so epically fought (well, bid…) over was written by Ann Peacock, who wrote the indie Sundance thriller The Killing Room, a film directed by Liebesman as it happens. If you’re wondering why on earth an indie thriller writer is penning the script for this one, not only is it because she worked with Liebesman before, but she also co-wrote the screenplay for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. So she does experience with the genre.
As fellow Screen Rant writer Niall Browne pointed out before, it seems that WB has some sort of fascination with bringing these types of stories to the big screen: They already had Troy and 300, they have the Clash of the Titans remake already on the slate and now they’ve added Odysseus (that’s the presumed title at this point, but it very well may change).
I hope they don’t overkill the market with this type of film, because eventually it will get tiresome (for some it may have already). They will probably take their time on this project because of the fact that Clash of the Titans and Odysseus are very similar.
As for the direction they are planning on going with it, I have to say I like the sound of it. Although I have made my feelings clear about Taken in the past, I presume they are just meaning it will be similar in that it’s one man kicking some ass, which is solidified by his other reference to Rambo. And the comparison to 300 is definitely good news – it’s a story that could easily be told in a similar way to 300, as long as it’s not too similar…
So do you like the sound of the direction they’re going with this? Do you like the 300, Taken and Rambo comparisons?
Screen Rant will keep you up-to-date on Odysseus as more news gets released.
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For me, this screams “RENTAL!” all over it. It’ll probably be 3 hours long and I hate sitting still that long. They should have an intermission so people can go to the bathroom!!! LOL!!
Call me simple, but any movie described as “one man just kicking a lot of ass” is a movie I’ll want to see
Andy, it should be a rental because you can’t sit still for 3 hours?
They should stick to the originals novel, Odyssey. Where after the Trojan War, Odysseus is cursed by the Gods, and he find him self lost in misadventures, to never reach his land.
Anyway, this sound to me as crap, because in that epoch Odysseus was a treater to his own kind of race, he was not a Greek either, he was a Cheffleninan a Illyrian tribe that were on the bring of loosing there empire that was build by there great great ruler Ilir, who was one of the sons of Poseidon on the Balkan Peninsula.
The Trojan War was the biggest loss of the original inhabitants of the Balkans that belong to the Pelasgians, and all mythology that the Greeks have stolen belongs to them.
The war was between the Pelasgian tribes fighting against the invaders, the Achanians and the Dannanians that come from the north of Egypt and the other from the Assyrian tribes as refugee, expelled by the Pharos.
The Assyrians were a war like arrogant killers of the ancient world with long black hear; these are the same Achaninas from Homer’s Iliad.
The Pelasginas were the peace loving people that existed on the Balkans since time immemorial, they are the oldest race in the whole world, and native to Europe The Pelasgian/Ilirian tribes that fought the invaders were 5 in number: the Peonians, Brygians (Phrygians),Eneti (Veneti), Thracians and Mysians.
Odysseus got kick out by his native race of the Trojan Empire and lived in a separate state Ithaca, the reason been is, he become a traitor to his own people that he brought the invaders on the shores of the powerful Trojan Empire, with the capital of Ilion, that was build by the great, great Pelasgian ruler Ilir.
Before Trojan Empire was called the Illyrian Empire after his name, that stretched from the North Alpine Mountains to the South Peloponnesus, from the West the Adriatic Seat to the East of Black Sea, the whole Balkan Peninsula was inhabited by the Goddess Peace loving race the Pelasginas.
The invaders wanted to destroy the Trojan Empire, that was there intent, not because Paris Alexander stole the beautiful Pelasgian Princess Elena, she was captive to Agamemnon’s brother Minelayers, and her family been killed by him, when she was at the time 14 years old. So she never was his wife from the first place either, it would if been so stupid to invade a native land that belonged to her ancestors, and making the cause of the Trojan War.
The invaders had a one intent in their mind been a Patriahal society, that wanted to destroy the Goddess tradition of Materiahal society.
Originally the Iliad and Odyssey was written in Pelasgian dialect a Brygian language.
When the invaders come they destroyed everything that belonged to the natives under their tyrannical ruler Pisistratus and ordered his scribes to change it to Greek.
Even the Parthenon in Athens was build by the Pelasgian race. The whole Greek structure is build by the native Pelasgians.
I think that it would be great to see another take on one of the foundational myths and story cycles of the West. The great thing about Odysseos, so often neglected, is that he is smart: a wily multi-dimensional thinker. He is Bugs Bunny with a bronze sword and carpentry tools, one of the elite of his world as King of Ithaka. He is not just a Conan-like figure. You need someone who can sell that, to show the bronze gears meshing in his head as he tries to think himself out of the dangers, whether Circe or the Cyclops.
Actually, I think that it would be interesting to see someone like Robert Downing Jr. in the role…
@ogb….
Yep. I’d rather watch it on my big screen TV in my living room so I can pause it to take a leak. Or grab a soda. There are only a handful of movies that make me want to see it in the theater and fork out my $10 and THIS film is NOT one of them.
i agree w/ andy on that, i cant stand sitting through a 3 hour film w/o having to take a piss and it would be sooo much better to pause the film
Okay, so this isn’t a sequel to Troy, obviously. However, I want Sean Bean to return in the Odysseus role. If they want a similar feel like Taken, then an old british guy who can still kick ass is the way to go.
Wow Chris! What are you a search engine or something? Dude, that was um (ahemm)awsome. And Stu, Robert Dr. in a role like that? No way man.
Sounds like they want to make something similar to God Of War but I believe that Universal has the rights to it.
At least they are doing something different with the story, and this iteration is described I am all for it. But then, why not include his confrontation with the Cyclops as well, and the other creatures?
I also would like Sean Bean as well, but with this ‘take’ on the story, why not just go for broke and get a big guy to be in the role & make a star out of him? Use the 80s action template and create a new bonafide action star!
I’ll still to the book.
The main story, as Chris said, is the journey home and that has the best stuff. He doesn’t come back to find an invading force but a bunch of blokes living in his home and harassing his wife and servants.
I do like the ending, full of good old fashioned smackdown, but that’s all it is. It’s the journey that makes you root for Odysseus, because you know all he has been through.
Totally agree, he’s not Conan. The end fight is a massacre because he outthinks the suitors.
I have actually been waiting for this satory to to be made into a modern day movie for quite some time, but the story described above is a smack in the face of this this epic. this should definately be about his journey home, and the tribulations along the way. I am all about ending with a kickass fight scene, but lets retell the story not make up a new one.
noooo. that sounds as though they are going to just, wreck the Odyssey!
no mention of Mythology & Gods/Godesses (like Troy, a pitiful adaption of the Illiad).
oh, and a small point, its not just Odysseus that takes back hhis kingdom, his son and a number of his servants help him :/
Essence of Rambo + Drama of Taken + CG Backgrounds/All around effects of 300 = Box Office Gold. I predict this movie will easily take #1.
holy crap diud you really write all this bullllshit no one wants to know.
gerard butler. period.
Essence of Rambo + Drama of Taken + CG Backgrounds/All around effects of 300 = Box Office Gold. I predict this movie will easily take #1.
Essence of Rambo + Drama of Taken + CG Backgrounds/All around effects of 300 = Box Office Gold. I predict this movie will easily take #1.
holy crap diud you really write all this bullllshit no one wants to know.
holy crap diud you really write all this bullllshit no one wants to know.
gerard butler. period.
gerard butler. period.
I read the script and it is almost NOTHING like the Odyssey. The characters are way off. Telemachus is rewritten as a angsty teen who is constantly fighting with his dad. Penelope dies in the end. Odysseus never turns into a beggar to hide his identity. He gets captured and it’s basicly like poorly written fan fiction.
Wow I’m excited…and I’m pretty sure the first post is a lie.