Andy Serkis will lend his voice to a science fiction adaptation of the Odyssey that is being published as an audiobook original, Deadline reports.
The actor will narrate Odysseus Rising, a new take on Homer’s epic poem written by Adrian Tchaikovsky. In the story, Odysseus is the exiled captain of a starship, the Ithaca. “If Odysseus is doomed to never reach the safe harbour of his people, he must find a way to bring the Ithaca to him,” Audible says of the book. “And so his real journey begins, not through space, but deep into time itself.”
News of the audiobook comes just over two months after the release of Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey, a massive blockbuster that has stoked Oscar buzz for Nolan as well as actors Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway.
Tchaikovsky is known for his SF novels including Children of Time, Alien Clay, Shroud, and Green City Wars. Serkis, who memorably voiced Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, also narrated audiobook editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, as well as George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Adam Kay’s A Particularly Nasty Case.
Serkis told Deadline, “Adrian’s re-imagining of The Odyssey is a staggering act of ingenuity. Transporting this ancient story into the distant future gives it new life and meaning. As an actor, having the opportunity to voice both Homer and Adrian’s creations is immensely rewarding and recording in tandem with Audible’s cutting-edge production is a dream come true.”
Odysseus Rising is slated for release on Feb. 25, 2027.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
