5 Mythical Tales That Need the Big-Screen Treatment After Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

There’s a very specific niche of Greek mythology geeks who think about the gods and goddesses at least once a day. Yes, it’s our Roman Empire, and with the news that Christopher Nolan (Interstellar) is going to meticulously assemble the grand myth of The Odyssey for the big screen with quite the epic cast, we’re so ready for it to be our time.

Most recently, we’ve gotten a smattering of adaptations here and there—big swings resulting in misses, like Netflix’s Kaos starring Jeff Goldblum as Zeus (which was ahead of its time), and little swings that have catapulted new visions of the Persephone and Hades myth to great heights, as seen in Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus and the Hades video games. Many of the tales’ original texts have been revisited and reinterpreted from the patriarchal-leaning translations; there’s also a trend of turning to other versions of the myths that have long existed but haven’t been as widely told, bringing new foundations to the stories we thought we knew. For one, Persephone having more agency as the Queen of the Underworld by choice has been a popularly embraced take on her lore. And we’re ready see it happen more often along with other favorites.

Hades and Persephone

Revisiting the tale of Hades, the ruler of the Underworld, and his Queen Persephone, goddess of Spring, has become a popular favorite in the YA romantic literature crowd. It garnered Lore Olympus a huge following both in digital downloads on Webtoon and in physical print. Really it’s all thanks to its creator Rachel Smythe’s gorgeously artful comic, which retold the couple’s courtship as a meet-cute through Persephone’s lens as she fell in love with Hades, welcoming her fate willingly. And there’s of course the gaming crowd, who are obsessed with their heroic kids: son Zagreus (the main character in Supergiant Games’ first Hades release) and daughter Melinoe (who leads Hades II).

Both properties draw from unearthed texts that give different interpretations of Hades and Persephone’s stories about their marriage and the children they had that contradict the stories as they’ve long been told. You know the one, where he stole her from her mother, and lets her come back to earth in the spring. We prefer a Persephone with agency and would love to see her story on screen as she gets her king and has her super-powered kids. For now we wait on the Jim Henson Company’s animated adaption of Lore Olympus, but the tease Webtoon did with Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate) makes us wish for a live-action movie too.

Orpheus and Eurydice

Most recently seen in Netflix’s Kaos as the uniting core story in the affairs between the gods and mortals, the song of Orpheus and Eurydice is a tragic one if you recall. The streamer’s attempt at a modern day re-telling of the myths of Mount Olympus gave it a satisfying change, but the nature of the real story’s lesson is what outlasts all other attempts at updating it.

That’s why we hope that the stage musical adaptation Hadestown (there he is again, the scoundrel king) is the next big musical to hit movie screens. Anaïs Mitchell’s concept album got the Broadway treatment by show director Rachel Chavkin, and it debuted at a time that could not be more timely for the myth’s themes of survival, division, and sacrifice. It also starred Penny Dreadful‘s Reeve Carney and breakthrough performer Eva Noblezada (Yellow Rose), who could still star in a big screen version of this if it got fast-tracked. Their performances as Orpheus and Eurydice are so beloved, they and the original cast are reprising their roles in an upcoming West End run, which will allegedly be filmed. So at least there’s that! On the indie radar Stranger Things star Sadie Sink is starring in a post-apocalyptic, gender-bent take on the myth called Odessa for Hulu.

Hercules

The first thing I breathed a sigh of relief about when the Russo Brothers went back to Marvel involved Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Hercules—with the hope that Guy Ritchie drops out of it too. If the studio can strike now before it’s too late, it would be smart to nab a two for one with Wicked’s Jon M. Chu as director and Ariana Grande as Megara. We’d be seated and ready just as long as that is done correctly, along with casting the best triple-threat Black actresses and singers for the muses.

Now I know you’re wondering why I’m specifically talking about Disney’s Hercules and not Hercules and his 10 tasks ordered by the gods. Well, do you remember Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson? Or The Legend of Hercules starring Twilight‘s Kellan Lutz? Nope? Exactly. I do remember the songs of the Disney classic, and with Chu’s hand, more of Hunk-ules’ legend could be used to expand the story, just like the director did with Wicked.

Eros and Psyche

The Greek myth of Eros (Cupid) and Psyche is pretty much the blueprint for all versions of the Beauty and the Beast story archetypes. Beautiful girl is sent by family or townsfolk to take care of a scary monster who ends up treating her better than they did, and they get jealous; curiosity gets the best of her and the monster is revealed to be god-tier hot… or, you know, a real god. The real myth has more tragedy—and again, we loved the layers it was presented with in Lore Olympus, which encouraged Psyche’s heroism as a major factor in her role. We’d like to see this myth taken back to its roots as a core love story for a new series; think Bridgerton but make it Greek myths in the ancient times with detailed costuming.

Medusa

Justice for Medusa! For whatever reason, Medusa keeps getting featured in adaptations such as Kaos as a small side character or antagonist, which thankfully was remedied in favor of her being depicted with more complexity in Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+. Her story as a mere monster to kill on some other man’s quest needs the Wicked treatment; she doesn’t have to be a victim of circumstance but a powerful figure who can stone the patriarchy. And she needs to have her tale re-told.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.