In an interview with Polygon, actor Lupita Nyong'o has revealed that Christopher Nolan broke his long-standing creative rule when casting her in his forthcoming film The Odyssey. Nyong'o plays both Helen of Troy and her twin sister Clytemnestra, a choice that has drawn considerable attention and debate. The revelation matters because Nolan is well known for writing his scripts without any specific actors in mind, yet he told Nyong'o he had been thinking of her throughout the writing process and was "desperate" for her to take the part.

Nolan has previously described how he deliberately avoids picturing actors while writing, arguing it keeps each character "pure"; even for Oppenheimer, he only noticed Cillian Murphy's resemblance to the scientist after finishing the script. According to Nyong'o, Nolan's decision reflected the film's central theme — the cost of war — and a wish to look beyond Helen's famed beauty to her lived experience and feelings about events unfolding in her name. The Odyssey, which also features Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland and Benny Safdie, is released in cinemas on 17 July.