Elon Musk’s AI company xAI has released the first seven minutes of an AI-generated version of Homer’s The Odyssey, made with its Grok Imagine video tool. The clip, which xAI calls “Episode 1 of our Odyssey series”, was posted on X by the Grok Imagine account on October 23, TechCrunch reports.
What was released
The episode was made in collaboration with Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker, according to TechCrunch. It is the first public piece of a project Musk announced about three months ago, when he said Grok would produce a full-length, “historically accurate” film of the ancient Greek epic.
Grok Imagine is xAI’s image and video generator, built into its Grok chatbot. The post does not say which version of the underlying model was used, and xAI has not said when further episodes or a full film might arrive.
The backstory
The project has a pointed context. TechCrunch notes that Musk had criticised Christopher Nolan’s live-action film of The Odyssey over its casting of nonwhite and transgender actors. The Grok version is, in part, a response to that.
It is also a showcase. AI video companies, including OpenAI, Google and xAI, are competing to prove their tools can make more than short, glossy clips. Holding a story, characters and look together across several minutes is a much harder test.
How it looks
Reviews are not glowing. TechCrunch’s Anthony Ha wrote that the footage was less ugly than he expected, but that it “lacks any sense of artistry, inspiration, or human interest”. He added that it was “hard to imagine being interested in another seven minutes of this, much less a full movie’s worth”.
That fits a wider pattern. AI video has improved quickly at producing realistic-looking shots, but critics say long-form AI films still struggle with pacing, performance and the creative choices that make a story worth watching.
What it means for you
You can watch the clip free on X, where it was posted. If you want to make your own videos with the same tool, Grok Imagine lives inside the Grok app; TechCrunch’s report does not cover pricing or plan limits, so check the app for what your account includes.
More broadly, expect to see more AI-made films and series from tech companies keen to show off their video models. Whether audiences want to watch them is still an open question, and this first episode suggests the technology is ahead of the storytelling.