Homer’s “The Odyssey” … in outer space? That seems to be the idea behind this latest Warner Bros. announcement, which has them adapting the Greek poet Homer’s legendary “The Odyssey”, about the legendary Ithacan warrior Odysseus, who goes on an arduous journey trying to get home to Ithaca back to his loving wife and son after the events of the 10-year Trojan War, as chronicled in Homer’s other masterwork, “The Iliad”. But don’t expect swords and sandals here, because Warner Bros. has hired George Miller (”The Road Warrior”) to adapt and direct the futuristic take on the Greek tale, with Brad Pitt set to produce and probably star in.

Variety has more:

After turning Homer’s epic poem “The Iliad” into the 2004 film “Troy,” Warner Bros. and Brad Pitt are teaming with George Miller to adapt the Greek poet’s other masterwork, “The Odyssey.”

Their intention is to transfer the tale to a futuristic setting in outer space.

Warner Bros. has quietly set up “The Odyssey,” and the early hope is that Pitt will star and Miller will direct, with Pitt’s Plan B producing.Pitt played Achilles in the Wolfgang Petersen-directed “Troy,” a global blockbuster that David Benioff adapted from “The Iliad.”

The whole idea behind “The Odyssey” is easily translatable to other settings, so I don’t think it would be all that difficult to make a sci-fi version work. Make the Trojan War a long, intergalactic war, and Odysseus’ odyssey can then become a battle through different parts of space. Okay, so I don’t know how the second part would work, but I’m intrigued to find out!

Below: Sword and sandals? More like, pulsars and pulsecannons! Ahem.