Brad Pitt’s Odyssey in outer space: 2001 or Troy 2 in a vacuum?

25 October 2008

John Howell

Brad Pitt is set to star in a futuristic adaptation of Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, in what could potentially be a wild and surreal cinematic experience. To give you a feel for the crazy creative possibilities of this new project, here’s a brief rundown of the Odyssey’s plot:

On his way back from the Trojan War, the crafty Greek hero Odysseus is ship wrecked, encounters monsters, witches, and a beautiful goddess who imprisons him on her island as her sex slave. During the journey he tricks a man eating Cyclops, his men are turned into pigs by a sorceress, and he incurs the wrath of the gods Poseidon and Apollo. He also encounters the beautiful yet monstrous female Sirens, whose songs attempt to lure sailors to their deaths, and even takes a trip to the underworld. Meanwhile in his homeland, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, uncertain of his fate, struggle to save his estate from a band of thugs determined to marry her. After a 20 year absence, Odysseus returns home in disguise to face his wife’s suitors in a final showdown.

Now try to imagine all this in a futuristic outer space setting! Depending on the approach taken the movie could have the majesty and power of 2001, or the silliness of Clash of the Titans. I guess a futuristic adaptation could transform the monsters into aliens, Odysseus’s estate into some type of Galactic Empire, and the gods Poseidon and Apollo into a pair of evolved artificial intelligences? The Odyssey has enough material for a dozen movies even without altering the setting.

According to Variety, George Miller will adapt the screenplay and may also direct, while Warner Bros. and Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B will produce.

George Miller was responsible for all three Mad Max movies (the first called The Road Warrior in the US), The Witches of Eastwick, Lorenzo's Oil, Babe: Pig in the City, and the final of the four parts that made up the first Twilight Zone movie released in 1983. His part, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, starred John Lithgow as a nervous passenger on a commercial airliner who spots a creature jumping onto the wing and ripping pieces off. The cabin crew and passengers think he’s losing his mind. More recently George Miller directed Warner Bros. animated movie Happy Feet.

This will be Brad Pitt’s second movie based on an epic Greek poem, having previously stared in Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy, adapted from Homer’s Iliad. Look out for him next in David Fincher’s fantasy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, about a man who ages backwards.

While it’s early days, Brad Pitt’s outer space Odyssey looks ambitious but promising. Let’s hope for a science fiction work more in the style of 2001 or The Fountain, rather than Troy 2 with space ships and laser beams.

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