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Cyberttak.
Generative video· 3 min read

Grok Imagine made a 7-minute Odyssey episode, and critics gave it one star, zero stars and worse

The clip was made with Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker, and its creators say it took under two weeks and tens of thousands of dollars.

By CyberttakPublished · 15:21

In brief

An AI Odyssey cost tens of thousands, not $250 million

Grok Imagine made a seven-minute Odyssey episode in under two weeks. The Guardian gave one star and the Telegraph zero. Pretty pictures are cheap now; story is not.

A film critic in a dark coat sits in an aisle seat of an empty cinema, looking at a blank white screen
A film critic in a dark coat sits in an aisle seat of an empty cinema, looking at a blank white screenCredit: AI-generated · FLUX.2 klein 9B

Grok Imagine, xAI's AI video tool, produced a seven-minute first episode of an AI-made version of Homer's The Odyssey. It was posted on X on 23 October 2026, and anyone can watch it there. It was made with Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker.

What the episode shows

The episode follows Odysseus from Ithaca to Troy, then skips ahead ten years. It introduces his wife Penelope and their young son Telemachus, then moves to preparations for the Trojan War.

The numbers

Wonder Studios co-founder Xavier Collins said the episode took less than two weeks and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Christopher Nolan's live-action The Odyssey cost $250 million, according to NME.

Collins also said the team had no brief to make the film anti-woke. In his words, the brief was to help understand where the technology is strong and where it needs work.

How it was received

Most critics were harsh. The Guardian gave it one star and the Telegraph gave it zero. The Independent called it abysmal. Gizmodo said it is not a good film and lacks a coherent narrative.

Spling was more measured. It praised the visuals and the low budget compared with Nolan's film, but called the story hollow.

Why it matters

The episode shows a split that matters for anyone watching AI video. Making good-looking scenes is now cheap and fast. Making people you care about is still the hard part. Imagine a postcard album: lovely pictures, but no plot.

Background

In July, Elon Musk promised a full-length, "historically accurate" Odyssey from Grok Imagine before the end of 2026. He made the promise after criticising Nolan's casting, including Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy.

This is billed as Episode 1 of a series, not a feature film. No date for the full production has been announced.

Limits

The sources do not give a release date for later episodes or for a full film. No official xAI or Musk notice beyond the posts of the clip was found. Reviews differ on tone, so quality is a matter of opinion, though most were negative.

Sources