Hugh Jackman In Talks To Play Odysseus In Odyssey Adaptation
Writing for The Wrap, Jeff Sneider reports that Hugh Jackman is in talks to star in a big-budget adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey by director Francis Lawrence.
Lawrence‘s recent work includes the final instalments of The Hunger Games. Jackman, of course, is best known for his live-action depiction of X-Man Wolverine. Both have experience in adapting printed material to the screen. However, the move would likely be a scene change for both, moving from populist subject-materials to canonical literature often referred to as ‘high-brow’.
Whoever is cast as the lead, the film has all the makings of a challenging prospect. The Odyssey is not a long book; the term ‘epic’ refers to form rather than length. However, telling, or re-telling, the event of a twelve year voyage related in an episodic sequence is viable to have any number of complications with regards to plot and character development. Still, those challenges are precisely what give the adaptation its potential.
We await the outcome of these negotiations with great anticipation.
Have you read The Odyssey? Can you see Jackman as Odysseus? Could we get Liev Schreiber to play Polyphemus? Or is James Marsden the only cyclops? Tell us in the comments!
