Credit: Frank Schwichtenberg

Christopher Nolan has explained why he cast Travis Scott in The Odyssey.

The British director is making his return in July with his latest epic, boasting an all-star cast of Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and many others.

Another notable name on the cast list is Travis Scott. Although his role is unknown, some believe he’s playing the role of Demodocus.

During a recent interview with Time, Nolan went into detail about why he picked Scott to star in the movie. “I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap,” he said.

The Odyssey follows the story of Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, on his journey home after the war.

In a trailer released in January, Scott interrupts a scene with Tom Holland’s Telemachus and Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus, warning a mess hall ahead of the Trojan War. “A war, a man, a trick – a trick to break the walls of Troy,” he says in the clip. “It burning, screaming to the ground.”

Scott previously collaborated with Nolan in 2020, with his song ‘The Plan’ appearing on the soundtrack for Tenet.

Nolan once told GQ, “[Scott’s] voice became the final piece of a yearlong puzzle. His insights into the musical and narrative mechanism [composer] Ludwig Göransson and I were building were immediate, insightful, and profound.”

Speaking on the film, Scott added, “I can’t even explain it. You literally just have to watch it. It’s very fire.”

The Odyssey will be released on July 17th, behind a budget of $250 million – the biggest of Nolan’s career to date.