What started as a college senior thesis and went on to amass billions of streams is now heading to cinemas. ‘Epic’, the viral musical retelling of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ created by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, is being developed as an animated movie. The project brings together one of Hollywood’s biggest producers and the music industry executive who helped turn the sensation into a real-world phenomenon.Per The Hollywood Reporter, Jerry Bruckheimer, the mega-producer behind the ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchises, has partnered with Rivera-Herrans and music industry veteran Kevin Weaver to produce the animated musical adaptation. The project is in its early stages and is set to be presented to studios and streamers, possibly as early as next week.
How ‘Epic’ became a global phenomenon
Rivera-Herrans began ‘Epic’ as his ambitious senior thesis at the University of Notre Dame. During the pandemic in 2021, he started posting his creative process online, before releasing the sagas as musicals from 2022 onwards. The self-released EPs hit the number one spot on iTunes and then topped the soundtrack charts, with ‘Epic’ at one point occupying nine out of the top ten listings.The serialised format, reimagining the classic tale of Odysseus’s Gods and monsters-filled journey home through a modern lens, drawing on musicals, anime, and video games, struck a chord with millennials and Gen Z audiences. Fans even participated in a worldwide casting process and created their own animatics to accompany the songs. More than four billion global streams and over seven billion short-form views later, the project had evolved into a full-scale cultural phenomenon.
How the music industry and Hollywood came calling
The above-mentioned outlet noted that every major label courted Rivera-Herrans in 2023, but he rebuffed all offers until signing with Weaver after a two-year courtship. Weaver, whose three-decade career includes spearheading blockbuster soundtrack projects such as ‘Barbie the Album’, ‘The Greatest Showman’, and ‘Suicide Squad: The Album’, helped steer ‘Epic’ into the real world with physical product and merchandising that generated millions of dollars from an eager fanbase.Bruckheimer’s involvement was eased by an existing relationship with Weaver, who worked with him on last year’s ‘F1 The Album’, based on the Brad Pitt racing film that earned an Oscar nomination for best picture and won one for best sound.Further, the project arrives at a moment when Homer’s work is suddenly very much in demand. Christopher Nolan is preparing a live-action retelling of ‘The Odyssey’ set to open on July 17, already generating significant buzz as one of the most anticipated films of the year. Combined with the devoted following ‘Epic’ has built, the ancient story is enjoying a level of cultural recognition rarely seen in modern times.This would mark Bruckheimer’s first foray into animation, though music has long been central to his work, stretching back to the 1980s classic ‘Flashdance’.