Next month, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster version of The Odyssey is set to storm cinemas around the globe. Auguries suggest the almost three-hour drama will repeat the success of Nolan’s previous film both at the box office (Oppenheimer took nearly a billion dollars) and the Academy Awards (it won seven Oscars).
But before that, a new audiobook version of Homer’s tale has been released starring one of Nolan’s most frequent collaborators: Michael Caine, with whom he has worked on eight films, including the Dark Knight trilogy.
Caine, now 93, announced his retirement at the Red Sea film festival in Saudi Arabia last December. It was the fourth time he has done so, and seems as unlikely to be binding as the previous three times, particularly thanks to a deal the actor struck shortly beforehand to licence an AI version of his voice.
In November 2025, Caine and Matthew McConaughey became the highest-profile stars to sign on with ElevenLabs, the $11bn AI audio generation and voice cloning company that enables brands, studios and creators to rent celebrity voices from its Iconic Voice Marketplace.
Such tools mean even death will not wither A-listers’ abilities to appear in new adverts, films or on GPS devices, as the licensing can continue – pending estate approval – for eternity.
The 13-hour Odyssey audiobook is ElevenLabs’ inaugural in-house production and billed as “the company’s first cinematic multicast audiobook, combining Sir Michael Caine’s™ official AI voice replica, a full cast performance, original music and immersive sound design”.
While Nolan’s screenplay draws on Emily Wilson’s revisionist 2017 translation for inspiration, ElevenLabs used the text translated by William Cullen Bryant in the 1870s. No academics were involved, they confirmed, but ensuring the correct pronunciation of characters’ names was “a painstaking process”.
In a statement, Caine described the poem as “one of the greatest stories ever told. For nearly three millennia, its themes of perseverance, loyalty, temptation and the enduring call of home have resonated across cultures and generations.
“By bridging classical storytelling with digital innovation, this timeless epic is reimagined for modern audiences, brought vividly to life through ElevenReader’s cutting-edge technology. It was a pleasure to be a part of ElevenProductions’ retelling of The Odyssey.”
Caine’s involvement was mostly confined to his consultancy last year, perfecting iterations of his AI voice. Dustin Blank, who leads partnerships at ElevenLabs, applauded the actor’s foresight in signing the deal with the company. “Bravo to him for recognising this is where technology is going,” Blank told the Guardian. “He’s a leader in this space because he’s been a part of crafting the…
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