r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 r/movies Contributor • 4h ago

Article ‘The Odyssey’ Proves It: Audiences Want Movies Made the Hard Way | This year's breakouts like 'Project Hail Mary' and 'Obsession' were made by filmmakers who sweated. While CG-stuffed franchise disappointments such as 'Supergirl,' 'Moana,' and 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' looked lazy.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/odyssey-box-office-2026-practical-effects-1236652219/
28.6k Upvotes

86% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

•

u/Dontshootmepeas 4h ago

Kind of surprised no one has yet

•

u/bentbabe 4h ago

There's still a bunch of it missing. Which is probably a factor.

•

u/Dontshootmepeas 4h ago

That allows creative freedom though.

•

u/cineglitch 4h ago

In before a bunch of people on Reddit complain about the historical accuracy of Enkidu.

•

u/BigCommieMachine 4h ago

I am not kidding when I say that American “Christians” would probably take offense to it because it resembles the Bible too much.

•

u/BFroog 4h ago

Also lots of gay.

•

u/Herlt 4h ago

gilgamesh gone woke

•

u/grizonyourface 4h ago

Gilgaymesh amirite

•

u/maxstryker 3h ago

Gilgasmash.

•

u/dennisasu 2h ago

Garglenuts

→ More replies (1)

•

u/Wild_Harvest 4h ago

Gilgamesh: Do you dare presume to think I would consider the lives of those beneath me, MONGREL?!?

Gates of Babylon open and throw endless numbers of weapons

•

u/TheTenguness 3h ago

"Onore, zasshu"

laughs arrogantly intensifies

•

u/Meowjoker 2h ago

It was only a matter of time until someone mention the king of jobbers

•

u/santosjb 1h ago

FGO Gilgamesh is the only version of Gilgamesh that I know of, not sure if that's a good or a bad thing...ZASSHU!

•

u/TwistedBrother 3h ago

This would absolutely be the critique of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Despite their very obvious bromance.

•

u/Oklahom0 3h ago

With 7 loaves of bread next to him.

•

u/XIIISkies 4h ago

Not gay if clay

•

u/Raevyxn 4h ago

Not gay if it’s in a 3 way

•

u/Rough_Bread8329 1h ago

If its a stone you have to bone.

•

u/Gandolfthewhite182 4h ago

Can you imagine if these right wing lunatics ever really understood that the Ancient Greeks, inventors of the western civilization they hold so dearly as their culture, were biggest homosexuals in world history ?? I know people saw Troy, that’s not Achilles “cousin”, Achilles went nuts like he did because that was his lover.

Everyone made love to everyone back then and no one thought anything of it. And the most gay of all the city states in Greece was the Spartans. Those dudes loved man butt.

•

u/xXKingLynxXx 3h ago

Its reductive to say that the Greeks were gay. While their were homosexual relationships, anyone known to be the submissive one, or the bottom in modern terms, was looked down on.

Many of their same sex relations were between grown men and young boys that they would mentor from the ages of 12 to 18.

•

u/RigaudonAS 3h ago

“They weren’t gay, they just frequently had sex with males.”

They can be gay and pedophilic, unfortunately a lot of the world was (the latter) back then.

•

u/Vozu_ 2h ago

The point is that they weren't gay in the modern sense of the word. It was part of social etiquette, a natural course of male life to have an older man as your mentor-lover, and to have those young protégés later.

You were still understood to have a long-term interest in having a woman and children with her. Our "gay" label is fundamentally incompatible with their societal norms.

→ More replies (0)

•

u/cineglitch 3h ago

Have you read The Song of Achilles?

•

u/darklightmatter 3h ago

Can we not equate modern sexuality to what Ancient Greeks did? They raped young boys and looked down on the men who would bottom.

•

u/William_Dowling 3h ago

Pretty sure Freddie Mercury was the biggest homosexual in world history and he'd be offended by you suggesting otherwise

→ More replies (2)

•

u/BigCommieMachine 3h ago

Lot of “wrestling”

•

u/czs5056 3h ago

THEY WERE GOOD FRIENDS! /s

•

u/segobane 3h ago

It's not gay if it's clay.

→ More replies (1)

•

u/cogman10 4h ago

Who cares what they think, they get offended when women step out of the kitchen.

There's not been a blockbuster movie in the last 40 years where you can't find some fundi christian getting huffy over some "immoral" aspect.

These people are a shrinking minor demographic.

•

u/kfpswf 3h ago

These people are a shrinking minor demographic.

They were a shrinking minor demographic when education was going strong, and people were growing in their intelligence every generation. We're seeing a reversal of this trend now, so don't hold your breath for the 'minor demographic' to sublimate completely. We might just see a complete 180 by humanity if things continue to go as they're going.

IMO, Liberalism is going to shoot itself in the foot by continuing to downplay the importance of a close-knit community for the well-being of humans, something Conservatism provides freely. We've dismantled so much of traditional community structures in the name of progress, instead of subverting them to foster inclusiveness and tolerance, that ultimately, liberalism itself is at the cusp of being rejected by the masses. Yes, the educated folks will likely uphold the principles of humanitarianism, gender/race equity, etc., till the end, but if these aren't assimilated by the masses, liberals might turn into the 'shrinking minor demographic' in the not too distant future.

•

u/MetzgerBuns 1h ago edited 1h ago

Liberalism is going to shoot itself in the foot by continuing to downplay the importance of a close-knit community for the well-being of humans,

You're repeating a conservative lie. Liberals fucking love community, and community spaces, and all sorts of things like that. That's part of why liberalism is so common in cities and less common in areas that are structurally individualistic.

An incomplete list of community places and events that are liberal coded: Farmers markets, food co-ops, CSAs, coffee shops, bookstores, record shops, thrift shops, yoga studios, bike co-ops, film festivals, open mic nights, community theater, NPR, folk festivals, public libraries (and events at them), community gardens, non-traditional libraries (e.g. libraries for tools, or for parks passes, or little free libraries) , neighborhood associations, beach cleanups, pride parades, drag brunch, progressive synagogues, Unitarian Universalists, and and other more progressive religious groups, etc

The vast majority of your rant is just false bullshit spread by conservatives who want to pretend that their community (evangelical mega-churches, rodeos, gun shows, hobby lobby, NASCAR, AM radio, ATV clubs, etc) are the only valid community. Fuck all of that.

•

u/Tubamajuba 31m ago

Thank you for eloquently responding to that bullshit, couldn't have said it better myself. It was unreal to see "close-knit community for the well-being of humans" and "Conservatism" in the same sentence haha

→ More replies (1)

•

u/strawbery_fields 3h ago

Totally agree with you. I’m as liberal as they come, but these goddamn leftists purity tests are getting out of control.

I had a good friend bitch me out for watching Euphoria because it’s extremely loosely based on an Israeli show.

I’m like all the super fucked things in that show and that’s your biggest problem?

•

u/kfpswf 3h ago

but these goddamn leftists purity tests are getting out of control.

Something something tribal mentality. In that regard, liberals are no different than conservatives actually.

When you take any ideology too seriously over reality, you start gate-keeping the tiniest aspect of that ideology. Once your direct ideological opponents have been vanquished, you turn your attention towards your own and push for stringent definitions of what it means to be a liberal.

I had a good friend bitch me out for watching Euphoria because it’s extremely loosely based on an Israeli show.

Oh yeah... If we were to boycott anything tangentially related to Israel, life would become very difficult quickly.

•

u/chimmy_chungus23 3h ago

Influence is cyclical, and too often people just want to wear the boot so they can step on the opposition, percieved or otherwise.

→ More replies (0)
→ More replies (11)
→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (2)

•

u/xteve 3h ago

I'd like to believe fundamentalist Christianity is a shrinking demographic. But a whole lot of somebody is voting for the GOP ergo MAGA and Trump. The alliance based on sexual restriction and opposition to reproductive freedom that underlies the "normal Christian" political voice seems pretty fundamentalist to me.

•

u/weed_blazepot 2h ago

These people are a shrinking minor demographic.

There's at least 77 million of them in America voting for red hats, so not shrinking that much.

•

u/cogman10 2h ago

While religious fundamentalists are all mostly MAGA, not all MAGA is religious fundamentalists.

→ More replies (1)

•

u/Dapper-AF 4h ago

Still crazy to me that Christians dont know that this is a rebranded story to fit the abrahamic narrative that got incorporated after the jews were conquered by Babylon.

•

u/trialsofamadman 2h ago

The stuff before Deuteronomy, sure. None of the Bronze Age stuff in the bible has any archeological evidence, really.

On the other hand, the Old Testament/Tanakh was written by city dwellers in Jerusalem during the second temple period, firmly during the Iron age, and many of the events that take place then DO have historical evidence. We focus SO HARD on arguments about Genesis, Job, Exedous, Leviticus, and Numbers. The more historically interesting bits come later - Judges, Kings, Chronicles... You know, the stuff most people never really make it to when they start reading the bible. The boring middle bits, before getting to the New Testament.

Those early bits also were being written by priests who wanted to create a religious significance and background to the recently reunited Hebrew kingdoms, the easiest way was to re-work existing stories into a framework whereby all the patriarchs were related and the kingdoms were once all united, later split, and have been again re-united as one using common and well known mythological figures placed into lineages specifically to demonstrate this.

A critical reading of the first five books of the Old Testament makes it clear that the goals of the text were to set up a common mythos for several people groups to say they were related and united once, and to establish that they share a common history and traditions, tying in well known myths (like the flood).

•

u/MonsterRider80 3h ago

It goes further back. There are stark similarities between ancient Egyptian religion and modern he Abrahamic religions. Which is not surprising since Jews were in Egypt for a long time before going back.

•

u/Canesjags4life 4h ago

Haha. American evangelicals don't read as much Genesis as you think.

•

u/Sad-Artichoke-2174 3h ago

I love Phil Collins

•

u/Lactancia 3h ago

I'm a Peter Gabriel guy myself.

•

u/punksmostlydead 4h ago

If they had any inkling how much of their dogma was stolen wholesale. Old Constantine knew what he was doing.

•

u/TrickySuggestion3004 4h ago

Like what?

•

u/BardicSense 4h ago

You've heard of "The Bible" right? 

•

u/TrickySuggestion3004 4h ago

Yeah I’m asking what parts of the Bible. Also Constantine did not write any part of the bible

•

u/BardicSense 4h ago

All of the books in it are compiled from older tales. Constantine didnt write it, but comissioned it's compilation and distribution via Council of Nicea.

→ More replies (0)

•

u/locust098 3h ago

Would they take offense to passion of the christ 2: Electric boogaloo?

•

u/BigCommieMachine 3h ago

Depends on how much Jesus hates immigrants…

•

u/chumer_ranion 4h ago

Let them. They're off by like 2000 years lol. 

→ More replies (10)

•

u/CCLF 4h ago

I'm loving the image of rage and hysterics about "woke garbage" when Gilgamesh "civilizes" the wild hairy beast man through sodomy, and then they embark on happy, gay new voyages.

•

u/Xagzan 3h ago

I mean, not for nothing but you realize Shamhat is the one who "civilizes" Enkidu through sex.

•

u/CCLF 3h ago

Thanks for the clarification. I haven't read Gilgamesh since high school so the details are a bit hazy.

•

u/ShahinGalandar 2h ago

always those damn facts meddling with the yaoi fanfic!

•

u/LessInThought 3h ago

On the flip side let's get outraged at Hollywood sanitizing Greek mythology. All these adaptations and none show even 1% of the depravity Zeus gets up to.

→ More replies (1)

•

u/Acceptable_Cut_7545 3h ago

Okay but seeing a massive Humbaba in all his glory would be SO cool.

•

u/cineglitch 3h ago

It would be a heck of a fun movie!

•

u/c0horst 2h ago

Everything I know about Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Humbaba I've learned through the one episode of American Dad where Santa Clause uses child slave labor to dig up his corpse so he can gain his power.

•

u/Additional-Local8721 3h ago

If we're complaining about historical accuracy, I'd like to point out not every article of clothing back then was drab. Vibrant colors were often worn by everyone including peasants. Oh, and sunny days existed as well.

•

u/Hythy 3h ago

Yeah, I think the Odyssey is probably a fantastic film (not seen it yet), but my god am I tired of hollywood depicting the past as being so devoid of colour.

Of course with Nolan that's part of his style (I think he takes offence at the audience ever seeing a colour he can't), but it would've been nice if it wasn't so drab in (in a colour sense).

I also think they look like they came off the set of "Vikings" -so it's a shame they didn't make it feel at least a little Greek. There's nothing wrong with audiences expecting a film to evoke the idea that it's set where/when it's set (especially when I understand Nolan goes through great pains in the dialogue to situate the story in a very specific time/place with references to the Sea Peoples).

•

u/OtakuAttacku 3h ago

Fate Strange/Fake: I have no such weakness

•

u/TwinTiger 2h ago

If Enkidu isnt a green chicken, we riot! 😤

•

u/SadhuSalvaje 1h ago

In before a bunch of goofballs start comparing G and Enkidu to Han Solo and Chewbacca

Crap, I probably just gave Disney a very dumb idea…

•

u/obliviousofobvious 1h ago

How dare you not cast an actor of Sumerian descent!

•

u/carymb 3h ago

He's a wild man -- he who has been my companion, through adventure and hardship.

→ More replies (4)

•

u/Starbucks__Lovers 4h ago

We fell for that with game of thrones 

•

u/Earthpig_Johnson 4h ago

Time to start harassing the writer of the Epic of Gilgamesh until they finish it.

•

u/krombough 4h ago

He's been too busy trying to return some dogshit copper.

•

u/Mr_Piddles 4h ago

I’m just going to get my pitchforks ready for when they don’t make it gay enough.

•

u/Animajation 4h ago

Ohh I love a good séance

•

u/Earthpig_Johnson 4h ago

Find me the nearest medium that speaks Babylonian!

•

u/bentbabe 4h ago

I hate to say this. But the cracks of Game of Thrones started pretty much after the first season. It wasn't so much creative freedom as "how can we wrap this up?" in my opinion.

Which I think is also why GRRM is unable to finish. Because he is torn between "just get it over with" and "I can't fuck this up."

•

u/LupinThe8th 4h ago

I'll give it seasons 1-4 as pretty damn great, but you could see the cliff approaching as they ran out of book to adapt.

•

u/Intelligent_Oil7816 4h ago

Nah. Seasons 1-3 are very good adaptations of the first 3 books. Not perfect, but very enjoyable. Then we get to seasons 4 and 5 and - like the books they are adapting - they begin to become hot messes.

•

u/CodeComprehensive734 4h ago

Season 4 was also an adaption of book 3 but it also starts to get muddier and less direct book to season translations.

•

u/Canesjags4life 4h ago

It didn't help that A feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons happen simultaneously in time.

•

u/Tesco5799 3h ago

Agreed and I would add that from a book perspective Dance of Dragons furthers the story and it kind of feels like we are starting to move towards a conclusion of the story but we are far from it.

The show just ran out of material and tried to go from end of book 6 directly to an ending and it was half baked. If GRRM ever finishes the story it's going to be at least 2 more books.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

•

u/bootlegvader 1h ago

In 2015, we discovered 20 new lines from Gilgamesh so we technically got something new from Gilgamesh before we got another book from ASOIAF since the publishing of Dance.

https://www.openculture.com/2015/10/20-new-lines-from-the-epic-of-gilgamesh-discovered-in-iraq-adding-new-dimensions-to-the-story.html

•

u/SirJack3 4h ago

Creative freedom? So an AI can fill out the blanks! ~ a producer, somewhere

•

u/Prudent-Marsupial-42 4h ago

We can add Poochie into it seamlessly

•

u/Zachariot88 4h ago

(Poochie died on his way back to Mesopotamia)

•

u/Synicull 4h ago

Don't give them ideas

wE aRe InNoVaTiVe BeCaUsE AI WrOtE iT. NeXt GeNeRaTiOn ReTeLlInG oF a ClAsSiCaL tAlE

→ More replies (2)

•

u/Esternaefil 4h ago

Oh! Act three a wizard shows up at the last minute, with a laser sword and wins the day single-handedly!

•

u/Retbull 4h ago

So when he’s pulling nuclear missiles out of his infinite arsenal to fight god that’s cool to call canon?

•

u/Undecided_User_Name 4h ago

"Directed by Ryan Condal and Sarah Hess"

•

u/GB10VE 4h ago

chatgpt to the rescue :P

•

u/nickiter 4h ago

That's where you put the romance arc.

•

u/kippy3267 4h ago

That may be really cool for a zach snyder project. He I’m imagining like 300

•

u/AmIFromA 3h ago

Gilgamesh joins the Avengers!

•

u/VrinTheTerrible 3h ago

The last thing we should want is Hollywood hacks filling in the gaps. Can you imagine?

→ More replies (1)

•

u/Werechupacabra 3h ago

They could work in a side story about Ea-nāṣir and his sub-standard copper.

•

u/Hythy 3h ago

On that note I'd love someone to do an interpretation of Aethiopis. We basically just have only a a plot summary, but imagine a film about a contingent of soldiers from Ethiopia arriving to help Troy (kitted out in armour from Hephaestus), the death of Achilles, there's Amazons as well. The Greeks apparently loved depicting scenes from it on their vases so they thought it was cool as well. But it also gives filmmakers soooooo much creative freedom.

•

u/sam_hammich 3h ago

Fans of a work are not known for seeing gaps in canon as opportunities to exercise creative freedom.

•

u/HEX_BootyBootyBooty 3h ago

It's a fucking poem. Creative Freedom ALREADY happened, smh

•

u/Modo44 2h ago

Do you remember Game of Thrones? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

•

u/eaglessoar 2h ago

that worked well for ASOIAF

•

u/enter360 2h ago

Some how Gilgamesh returned

•

u/jeef16 2h ago edited 2h ago

look at what creative freedom did to odyssey lol. nolan cut some of the most memorable moments and lines, and arguably twisted around some themes that didn't need twisting. the interaction with polyphemus is like one of the most critical moments in the story, showing that odysseus is still witty but a stupid asshole who is 100% at fault for basically everything. plus, some really bad dialog and incredibly stale line delivery from actors that aren't great fits for the roles. Jon Bernthal as meneleus and benny safdie has Agamemnon was such an awkward and underwhelming performance, and lets face it matt damon has that too-recognizable face and he doesn't have the acting chops to pull off the performance needed. in all honesty I think it's just that nolan is washed at this point, interstellar was his last good movie but you can tell he was starting to really slip with how goofy the movie got at the end. nolan films were great because you never had that "im watching a movie right now" awareness because you're drawn in, and I think that fully ended with inception.

•

u/aircarone 1h ago

I mean, the Odyssee is quite detailed but Nolan didn't exactly stick to the script that closely anyway.

•

u/Debalic 38m ago

Tell that to D&D (of Game of Thrones infamy)

•

u/lifesarisk1x 0m ago

Right, because that worked out soooooo well for Game of Thrones didn't it?

→ More replies (2)

•

u/saphiki 4h ago

didn't stop game of thrones

•

u/awpdownmid 3h ago

It did though, that show's legacy died and along with it millions of revenue.

•

u/Out-For-A-Walk-Bitch 1h ago

Still angry.

•

u/Xatsman 4h ago

It in a way did.

→ More replies (3)

•

u/Anus_Targaryen 3h ago

I wish it did

•

u/AWildEnglishman 4h ago

Get Benioff and Weiss to fill in the blanks. Worked for Game of Thrones.

•

u/CurryMustard 3h ago

Not really

•

u/William_Dowling 3h ago

Just fill the gaps from that other great work of historical fiction, the bible

•

u/thePedrix 3h ago

Claude, please fill in the blanks in Gilgamesh's tale. Make it profitable.

•

u/kingofphilly 3h ago

Didn’t stop HBO from ruining Game of Thrones

•

u/TheMightyCatatafish 4h ago

There’s definitely enough material to adapt, though.

•

u/Procrasturbating 3h ago

Would be fun if they did a “to be continued” and then just didn’t, or skipped to what remains.

•

u/Whackles 3h ago

Didn’t stop Game of Thrones

•

u/Blah_McBlah_ 3h ago

Given how much Hollywood likes to rewrite original stories when adapting them, I don't think that's an issue.

•

u/lejonetfranMX 3h ago

Well there's a lot of the epic cycle missing too and that hasn't stopped these films

•

u/ThatsTheMother_Rick 3h ago

Honestly could still work imo. If someone did it in the same storytelling style as The Green Knight, where it was hazy, dreamlike, and felt like a series of interconnected vignettes at times, I think that would be dope as hell.

•

u/DistinctSmelling 2h ago

You could splice in frog DNA and it would probablhy come out fine.

•

u/alwrit 2h ago

Take whatever the literary equivalent of frog DNA is and stuff that fucker in there.

•

u/SPQR-VVV 2h ago

Like that matters at all, they shat all over Homer's story and cut out important parts and characters, events, etc.

•

u/TKInstinct 2h ago

Doesn't the Odyssey also have a bunch missing from it too?

•

u/LucretiusCarus 1h ago

The text of Odyssey and Iliad is complete - we even have multiple ancient commentaries on them. The rest of the epic cycle was considered inferior and survived only in fragments, references by other writers and summaries.

•

u/Zalvren 2h ago

I mean isn't it long enough to be partly adapted as a movie? The Odyssey is a small part of a much bigger epic.

Hollywood can make movies of a 4chan post, they can do it from this I think

•

u/Ok_Astronomer_6501 2h ago

Isn't that the case for the Odyssey too ?

•

u/bentbabe 1h ago

The Odyssey itself, I don't believe so but the epic cycle as a whole, yes. 

•

u/UniversalFapture 2h ago

Wym

•

u/bentbabe 1h ago

A lot of it is literally still not recovered. 

•

u/Donc-qui-et-Quand64 16m ago

The epic is a collection of stories told and written over like a thousand years. Same with the Homeric tales. That's why Odysseus goes on all these adventures during his return home, It's a compilation of older stories. With Gilgamesh there actually isn't even one version of it. It's like the adventures of Hercules, he's just a stand in for hero character so there's a million stories about him.

•

u/SnooBooks1243 4h ago

Fate/Stay series leads me to believe Japan has tried to fully control the Gilgamesh market.

•

u/dennisasu 2h ago

He's also a summon in a few Final Fantasy games

•

u/SnooBooks1243 2h ago

Ah yes, of course.

•

u/Baldassre 1h ago

Are we ignoring Civ?

→ More replies (1)

•

u/cmnrdt 4h ago

I mean, Gilgamesh doesn't so much have a narrative as much as it's a series of fanciful exploits that are all attributed to the same person. It would be hard to adapt into a ~2 hour movie without taking a lot of liberties with the source material, and by that point it's an entirely different kind of story.

•

u/krunamey 4h ago

Feels like it could work if they gave it pacing similar to something like The Green Knight

•

u/TheWatersOfMars 3h ago

It's actually a surprisingly similar vibe. Gilgamesh's journey to find immortality after the death of his best friend is melancholy and heartwrenching. I'm sure there's a great modern Hollywood script in there somewhere.

•

u/Nachooolo 2h ago

The problem here is that the journey is the last third of the story, and it wouldn't be as impactful (emotional, even) without the two first thirds.

Gilgamesh meeting and befriending Enkidu, and their adventures together are as important to the story as the journey.

•

u/TheWatersOfMars 2h ago

It's not unlike The Odyssey, though, in that Odysseus's famous adventures are really just the middle third of the poem. But Gilgamesh is much, much shorter and has far fewer iconic moments to draw on.

•

u/matdragon 3h ago

and yet Fate/stay night managed to characterize him to hell and back, is some of it true or not or historically accurate? of course not, it's an epic as old as time, it's up to creators to try to interpret and tell the story to the current generation.

Did Ishtar actually have beef with gilgamesh? Hell if i know, hell i wouldn't have even known who ishtar was without the fate series

•

u/SpiritFingersKitty 4h ago

Exactly what I was thinking

→ More replies (5)

•

u/TheVich 4h ago

How about a miniseries?

•

u/Mediocre_Scott 4h ago

It’s weird as hell too don’t forget that

•

u/Jonthrei 4h ago

Nothing weird about a goddess fucking civilization into a wild man

•

u/Exodan 1h ago

Not even a goddess - just a well-respected, human temple prostitute who was damn good at her job (they banged the wilderness out of him for 2 weeks straight).

•

u/WhaleMetal 2h ago

We live upon the waste of Tiamat.

•

u/Radixeo 3h ago

What do you mean it doesn’t have narrative? It follows Gilgamesh’s character arc from a tyrant, to finding a best friend in Enkidu, to the loss Gilgamesh feels when Enkidu is killed by the gods, to his search for the herb of immortality. It concludes with the snake eating the herb and Gilgamesh accepting it.

It has conflict, character growth, a beginning and an end. I think you could make a great movie out of that.

•

u/BrianWonderful 3h ago

Modern Hollywood would hear that and say "Wow! A franchise with a whole set of sequels already planned out!"

•

u/AngryScientist 4h ago

So are the gospels of the new testament, but that never stopped anyone.

•

u/FireZord25 3h ago

So does Hercules, but we've made a shitton of stuff about him.

•

u/kaplanfx 2h ago

They made a movie about the Pirates of Caribbean ride and it was a huge hit, I think they could get a workable story out of Gilgamesh.

•

u/Nachooolo 2h ago edited 2h ago

It does have a decent amount of story in it. His journey is only the tail-end of the Epic, the rest is about the creation of Enkidu and him becoming Gilgamesh's companion, and the adventures Gilgamesh and Enkidu go prior to Enkidu's death.

The problem here is that the Epic is too well segmented in three different sections of different narrative tones and styles for a single film to adapt without streamlining one or two of the story segments (most probably the first two, as the journey is the most well-kown segment)

Which would make the story too short for a film.

•

u/ankylosaurus_tail 1h ago

Gilgamesh is basically just a buddy comedy where two men party a lot, bond intensely, fight and kill a cool monster, and in the process they both change and grow, with Enkidu becoming civilized and Gilgamesh coming to accept the limitations of his own power and the inevitability of death. It could be a great film if it was done well.

•

u/jankyalias 44m ago

It’s kinda similar to the Odyssey in that way. There’s the part about Odysseus’ travels, the Telemachus sections, and the homecoming. 

Gilgamesh has the opening section where Enkidu and Gilg meet, then their adventures, then the back half where Gilg, overcome with grief at Enkidu’s death, searches for a way to overcome mortality. 

Could very much make a three hour epic. If anything the Odyssey has way more going on.

•

u/Oy_of_Mid-world 4h ago

Remember what they did to Beowulf? Just kidding. I didn't watch it, either.

•

u/Jonthrei 4h ago

The 13th Warrior was actually a pretty solid adaptation of Beowulf, tbh.

•

u/Panzer_Man 2h ago

That movie was awesome

•

u/iwilldeletethisacct2 1h ago

That scene where they're all chatting around the campfire and the language shifts from whatever language to English so the audience can understand to show Ahmed learning the language lives rent free in my head. "I LISTENED!"

•

u/Aiseadai 4h ago

I actually liked that movie, especially the first half. It was some pretty effective horror.

•

u/ContinuingAnyway 3h ago

It was good

•

u/Spiritual_Corner_977 4h ago

They aren’t ready for boy love on the big screen

•

u/CosmicDesperado 4h ago

Brokeback Mountain 2: Gilgamesh XXX

•

u/Mr_Piddles 4h ago edited 4h ago

I can already imagine all the right wing chuds whining about how “woke Hollywood is turning Gilgamesh and Enkidu gay!”

•

u/GooseQuothMan 4h ago

"why is he not a blonde white guy like in the Fate anime"

•

u/KamachoThunderbus 4h ago

Guillermo del Toro could so something interesting with it I bet

•

u/Foehammer58 3h ago

The best retelling of the story was by Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

•

u/Similar_Two_542 4h ago

Noah flopped pretty hard. Gilgamesh would do even worse.

•

u/HynkelVerdoux 4h ago

Noah was a financial success. Per Wikipedia:

The film grossed $101 million in North America and $258 million in other countries, making a worldwide gross of $359 million. The film was declared "an unmitigated hit ... by almost every measure."

•

u/anuncommontruth 4h ago edited 3h ago

I think people equate Noah with failure because it was incredibly controversial and then steeply fell out of the public eye.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

•

u/Everestkid 2h ago

Thing is, The Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh are long poems with many plot points.

The story of Noah as written in the Bible lasts like five pages. Ten, tops. They had to invent a whole lot of plot points to drag it out into a two-hour movie.

•

u/LimerickExplorer 4h ago

The evolution scene and the depiction of angels in Noah were fucking awesome. I realize this is not relevant but just wanted to point it out.

•

u/Similar_Two_542 3h ago

I agree. It's a bold movie and I wouldn't be surprised if Nolan found some inspiration there.

•

u/DragoSphere 2h ago

Ok, but what if Nolan directed it

•

u/Kevbot1000 4h ago

If they ever do, they should go with the Benderman adaptation.

•

u/SaturnATX 4h ago

It's very, very gay.

•

u/TheComplimentarian 4h ago

Lot of it reads like a fever dream. It’s a fundamentally different type of story from a very very different time.

•

u/Eltharion-the-Grim 4h ago

Gilgamesh isn’t exactly a known to most people.

•

u/Thoughtulism 4h ago

Chris Nolan taking notes furiously

•

u/kaliwrath 4h ago

The amount of hate will be epic! The flood, resurrection, etc that happen before the Bible stories?

•

u/collin-h 4h ago

its pretty convoluted and confusing if you take it for what it is (not to mention pieces are missing). but you could definitely riff off it to make an interesting story.

•

u/jimmyluntz 3h ago

Jeff Goldblum as Gilgamesh

•

u/ericvulgaris 3h ago

how dare chris nolan deny us practical effect-ful imax rendition of the taming of enkidu with sex

•

u/rsplatpc 3h ago

It’s Hollywood and someone just had a hit, you know that 2 studios already have it optioned along with Diamond Sutra and The Book of The Dead

•

u/DistinctlyIrish 3h ago

Jews and Christians did it with the story of Noah, their version was dumb as hell though with the two of every animal

•

u/werpu 3h ago

They probably wont dare because of the Deluge story which is way different than in the bible but the same at the core

•

u/Stagger_Lee_64 3h ago

Gilgamesh x Enkidu yaoi would descend upon the internet like a swarm of locusts, and I'd be here for it.

•

u/akera099 3h ago

Probably because of the sex themes I'd imagine?

•

u/ContinuingAnyway 3h ago

It would be a ton of work

•

u/choicemeats 3h ago

Just label it part one and never do a part two

•

u/Anal-Y-Sis 2h ago

They have. Sort of. They made "Noah", which is a retelling of "The Epic of Gilgamesh".

•

u/Find_Spot 2h ago

It's not Western enough to land with those audiences. I suspect there's been allegorical films made based on it or in other markets.

•

u/jeef16 2h ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HawclJ8S3IU

I thing this scene is a really good way of incorporating the epic of gilgamesh into modern storytelling

•

u/skaestantereggae 1h ago

Yea isn’t Baal a main player in that? Gonna get all the weird Christian weirdos all worked up

•

u/Honestfellow2449 1h ago

There were some rumors that at one point the next Predator movie was going to be based on that, which actually a seem like fun idea.

•

u/alcoholicplankton69 1h ago

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

•

u/Delicious_West_1993 41m ago

It has… and I’m surprised no one has realised 🤣 and it’s something that’s extremely well known

•

u/omgwtfidk89 27m ago

Islamophobia

→ More replies (6)