"The Odyssey" Takes Hilarious Twist: Epic Film's Leak Causes Stir and Rickrolls

Who'd have thought 'The Odyssey' would take a trip down meme lane? The epic film's leak went viral on X, thanks to a tweet that sent shockwaves through the internet on the sweltering summer day of July 25.

Just minutes past 2 p.m. PT, a cheeky tweet read, "No kidding, someone's dropped 'The Odyssey' full movie on X. Can you fathom?". A message from a now-disowned account, featuring a high-definition version of the film, caused heads to turn and eyes to blink. According to the movie buffs at Variety, the disguised film noir soared to over 2.1 million views, all in less than three hours. The high-flying bootleg was soon grounded by a takedown notice, and then poof! – the account got the boot.

Yet, despite the piracy tumult, "The Odyssey" continues to swim in popularity at the box office. Its second outing saw fans splashing out a further $87 million, with a strong tide still favouring the coveted Imax 70 mm tickets.

By July 26, some sneaky doppelgangers of the pirated film had propagated on X. However, the sea of leaks was substantially diluted by mischievous files purporting to offer up "The Odyssey." The twist? They served up a dash of 80s nostalgia, presenting Rick Astley's infectious 1987 pop classic "Never Gonna Give You Up." Yes, folks, Rickroll pranks - the internet's favorite bait-and-switch – are back in action.

In the wake of the leak, Universal Pictures raised its sails, releasing a statement to Variety. "We caught wind of the unauthorized release of the film and set our sights on takedown maneuvers. We don't take any shenanigans with copyright infringement lightly. We'll chart all appropriate courses to guard our content and intellectual property rights."

Adding to the waves of comical chaos, X owner Elon Musk weighed in with his hot takes on the Christopher Nolan movie. Not one to shy away from sharing his thoughts, Musk took a potshot at the casting choices. "Who exactly is the genius that shoehorned DEI lies into the Academy Awards eligibility instead of it being about creating the ultimate movie?". Musk followed with a promise that his AI tool, Grok Imagine, plans to conjure a "historically accurate" rendition of the film to unleash on the public later this year.