Swedish Viking Center accuses Universal of not paying for damage to ship used in 'The Odyssey'

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” faces an accusation from a Swedish nonprofit that Universal never paid for damage to a Viking ship used in the film. 

The Varmlands Viking Center loaned its replica ship, Glad av Gillberga, after a film company contacted it in late 2024 about a project called “Charlie’s Tale,” which turned out to be “The Odyssey.” 

The center’s chair, Peter Olausson, agreed to the loan and said the ship was used as the vessel in the film’s flotilla scenes. 

When the ship returned damaged months later, Mr. Olausson wasn’t initially concerned because the production was contractually required to cover repairs. 

Now that the film is out, he says Universal still owes him $6,000, after he lowered it from $9,000 hoping to resolve the situation last Christmas. 

Mr. Olausson told The New York Times the unrepaired damage has kept the ship out of use this summer, causing further lost revenue for the small nonprofit. 

Universal disputes this, saying its records show all invoices, including for repairs, have been paid in full. 

Despite the accusation, Mr. Olausson said he enjoyed watching “The Odyssey” in the theater and recognized his ship appearing roughly 10 times onscreen in early scenes of Odysseus’ fleet leaving Troy.