Odysseus to face AI-generated Michael Caine in new The Odyssey audiobook

Before Christopher Nolan's adaptation comes to theaters, ElevenLabs generated an adaptation of its own.

By Drew Gillis  |  June 23, 2026 | 10:33am
Books News The Odyssey
Odysseus to face AI-generated Michael Caine in new The Odyssey audiobook

Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey has nearly completed its long journey to cinemas, but before it can come home, there is one more challenge it must best. Variety reports this morning that the epic poem The Odyssey will first be released as an AI audiobook, voiced by an AI recreation of Michael Caine. The venture is from ElevenLabs, which you may remember from last year when we reported that Caine and Liza Minnelli had agreed to add their voices to the “Iconic Voice Marketplace,” which also included AI-recreations of voices from dead celebrities like Babe Ruth, Maya Angelou, and Minnelli’s own mother, Judy Garland. Garland’s voice was used for a similar endeavor last year, narrating an audiobook of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz ahead of the premiere of Wicked: For Good. 

That Caine has consented to the project is something ElevenLab’s Dustin Blank highlights in speaking to Variety, though the outlet wasn’t able to confirm whether Caine had actually heard the finished product. ElevenLabs also touts how quickly and cheaply they were able to make a 13-hour audiobook thanks to AI, employing only four producers to use the AI tools for a cast of 20 characters and a musical score. This was “previously not possible to do that type of work with a small team and a short timeline,” says another ElevenLabs employee, Madeline Shue, which we’re sure is music to the ears of all the actors and producers currently looking for work. In any case, Caine is getting paid and reportedly approved the audiobook’s marketing materials, like the trailer linked below. 

 
Join the discussion...
Keep scrolling for more great stories.