Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate Homer’s Odyssey into English, is working on a complete retranslation of the ancient Greek epic less than a decade after her widely praised 2017 version. Her original translation was celebrated for modernizing the 3,000-year-old poem and making it more accessible to contemporary readers. In recent interviews with the New York Times and the Associated Press, Wilson explained that the new version is not a simple revision but a full re-translation from the original Greek text. She is currently about halfway through the project. Wilson recently sparked controversy with a sharp critique of Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of the Odyssey, which was released in July 2026. She called the film’s writing “abysmal” and pointed out the absence of sex scenes, which she felt were crucial to the original story. Nolan had cited her 2017 translation, including its famous opening line, “Tell me about a complicated man,” as an influence on his film. The movie, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Matt Damon, and Anne Hathaway, received rave reviews and earned $264 million (£196 million) in its opening weekend, the highest for Nolan. The film’s release also led to a significant surge in book sales, with UK print sales of the Odyssey rising by 1,400% in the four weeks following its release. Wilson’s criticism of the film drew strong reactions, including from novelist Joyce Carol Oates, who accused her of “haughty superiority.” In an article for the London Review of Books, Wilson argued that the film lacked key elements that make the original poem compelling, such as strong character motivations and authentic depictions of daily life. Despite the controversy, Wilson emphasized that her decision to retranslate the Odyssey predates the film debate. In a spring interview with the ancient-history podcast Instant Classics, she explained her desire to revisit Homer’s work and approach it differently from her first translation. Wilson has indicated that she may retain the opening line, “Tell me about a complicated man,” but she plans to refine her language choices. For example, she noted that her original translation used the word “slave” too frequently, potentially oversimplifying the complex forms of enslavement in the poem. The new version will also include significantly more scholarly commentary, with four times as many endnotes as the original. While retranslating a classic work is uncommon, experts say it is not unheard of. Oxford University professor Matthew Reynolds noted that many translators, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Ezra Pound, have revised their own translations over time. He described translation as an ongoing process of reinterpretation rather than a fixed task. Wilson’s new Odyssey does not yet have a publication date, but its release will likely spark further discussion about the evolving nature of literary translation and the enduring relevance of ancient texts.