The Odyssey, Episode 1 (Grok Imagine)

The first seven minutes of xAI's AI-generated Odyssey, posted by the Grok Imagine account as "Episode 1 of our Odyssey series," made with Grok Imagine in collaboration with Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker. It was the payoff of a promise: weeks after Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey opened, Elon Musk had pledged a "historically accurate" Grok version, and the $175K Odyssey contest in August had crowdsourced the audition.

It passed 6.8 million views on X within days. TechCrunch found it more polished than expected, with shots that could pass for real actors on a real sea, but flat as drama, with a long voiceover, stilted dialogue and little momentum: "looks okay, as long as you're not seeking artistry, inspiration, or human interest." The post offered a full breakdown of how it was made if viewers asked.