Well, and also Epic and Nolan’s Odyssey (which to be clear, I also did enjoy watching as a film, independently to the story it adapted) have entirely different ways in which they change what they are adapting.
Epic is an interesting case because it’s both adapting incredibly famous events in Greek mythology and telling its own tragedy, the impact of which is felt such that even the bittersweet happy ending makes everyone cry.
Epic the Musical is NOT called “The Odyssey: The Musical.” Because it’s not The Odyssey: The Musical. It does adapt the tale of the Odyssey, but the overarching plot arc and moral tale come from the mind of Jorge Rivera-Herrans, and the events and characters of the Odyssey are adapted in a way that is faithful enough to feel representative of the tale but ultimately are adjusted to serve that larger story goal, which Jorge never pretended was something he took from the original Odyssey.
Epic works because it’s adapting the Odyssey without claiming to tell the story of the Odyssey. It tells the story of Epic through the legendary tales of the Odyssey, which is a subtle difference, but one that was executed very well.
Nolan’s Odyssey movie, on the other hand, feels from the way it is set up as though it should be portraying the story of the Odyssey, and then it doesn’t.
Here’s the thing, though: I actually do like the tale told through Nolan’s Odyssey. I think the way it’s filmed, the way it’s set up, and the way the motifs pull together is very well done. The centrality of the invented Zeus’ law and the way Athena’s character was handled (which is completely antithetical to the original story, but impactful in its own way) were executed well. But at the same time, it just comes with this feeling of claiming to be something it isn’t. If the film wasn’t the Odyssey, I’d enjoy it better, because it is a good story, it just deeply is not the story it claims to be. In fact, I’d say Epic the Musical actually tiptoes closer to the Odyssey story than a movie called the Odyssey.
And that’s honestly the reason why Epic is, to me, a better adaptation—not necessarily because it’s a better-told story (I also personally believe that, but also think that’s something that would be more debatable if we could watch Nolan’s film without any prior knowledge of Greek mythology or even knowing he was adapting something to begin with), but because it delivers the story it claims to be in a masterful way.
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