Musk's AI 'Odyssey' on Grok Imagine: Seven Minutes, Scathing Reviews

What it's about

Grok Imagine, the image and video generator from Elon Musk's company xAI, released the first episode of a new "Odyssey" adaptation on its official X account on October 23, 2026. The video runs about seven minutes and was made with generative AI, meaning software that creates images, video and audio from descriptions. According to the credits, Wonder Studios, a startup specializing in AI film, and director Dev Walker also worked on it.

The background is a feud. Christopher Nolan brought his own adaptation of Homer's epic to theaters in 2026. Musk criticized it and announced in July that Grok would produce a feature film by the end of 2026 that would be "more historically accurate" and closer to Homer.

What the first episode shows

According to The Guardian, the story opens with a prologue: Odysseus feigns madness to avoid going to the Trojan War. Palamedes and Agamemnon test him by placing his son Telemachus in front of a plow. Odysseus saves him and goes to war. A title card then jumps ahead ten years, with the siege of Troy about to reach the Trojan Horse attack. According to LatestLY, the episode ends with Odysseus holding a wooden horse figure. You see ancient warriors, ships at sea and a narrator.

From feature film to series

Musk had promised a full-length film, accompanied by an AI clip of about three minutes. Now Grok Imagine speaks of "Episode 1" of a series. According to ProPakistani, it isn't confirmed how many episodes will follow or whether it will become a film. Italy's Fastweb also gives no date. Technically, a long work would be a stress test. Many models can handle short clips, but over dozens of minutes, characters, locations and plot have to stay consistent. Dialogue, acting and editing add to the challenge.

Reactions

The response is mostly negative:

• TechCrunch (cited by ProPakistani): Some scenes, especially characters on ships, look surprisingly realistic. Critics point to long stretches of narration, unnatural dialogue and a lack of emotional connection. The characters also speak English instead of Ancient Greek, which doesn't fit the claim of historical accuracy.
• The Guardian: The episode is "sluggish and lifeless," with a stock-photo look like a game with Call of Duty-style graphics. The ships are lined up like Space Invaders, and the robotic voices all speak in the same overwrought tone. The verdict is snide and strongly opinionated.
• LatestLY: The coverage calls it "soulless" and "zombie-like." One critic cites Penelope looking different from scene to scene as a break in continuity. Some X users did like the result, though.

Note that LatestLY and the Guardian are strongly judgmental. There are no independent viewership numbers or ratings.

Nolan's film as a yardstick

According to LatestLY, Nolan's "The Odyssey" opened on July 17, 2026 (with a preview on July 6), starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and others. It had a $250 million budget and grossed about $1.8 billion. According to ProPakistani, it relied on handmade filmmaking across six countries. According to ProPakistani and the Guardian, Musk's criticism mainly targeted casting decisions. The Guardian stresses that he hadn't seen the film before criticizing it.

Our take

The project shows how far AI video has come in 2026. Individual shots can look real, but storytelling, voices and character consistency remain weak spots. It's also telling that even this showcase project needs human direction and a studio. The feature film by year's end is unsubstantiated, and the switch to a series looks like a retreat. Much of the coverage is politically colored. The best way to judge quality is to watch the video yourself. Whether later episodes improve is an open question.