Fiennes did physical training for five months to acquire the wiry and muscular body that Pasolini wanted for Odysseus, followed by 2+1⁄2 months of running and weight training to reduce his body fat as far as possible. Odysseus's body was intended to look "like a bit of old rope" rather than a "gym body", in Fiennes's words.

The production lacks any of the gods of Homer's poem, according to Pasolini. There are further no monsters or mythical beings such as the Cyclops and sirens, in contrast to Nolan's film. Pasolini said that his Odysseus had to feel that the guilt and pain from the siege of Troy and the deaths of his companions "was his own doing".

Pasolini asked Fiennes who should play Penelope, and Fiennes replied "Juliette [Binoche], of course".

The Return is a 2024 drama film directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. The film is a retelling of the second half of Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus returns to his homeland in Ithaca after his long absence as adapted by Edward Bond, John Collee, and Pasolini.