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    40-Foot Trojan Horse Statue Erected in Front of Upper West Side Movie Theater

    July 13, 2026 | 1:53 PM - Updated on August 1, 2026 | 9:27 AM
    in ART, NEWS
    54
    The 40-foot Trojan Horse statue in front of AMC Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side. Photo by Sam Gross.

    By Gus Saltonstall

    No, you’re not seeing things.

    There is a 40-foot wooden Trojan Horse statue in front of the AMC Lincoln Square Theater on Broadway, between West 67th and 68th streets.

    The statue began going up last weekend ahead of this Tuesday afternoon’s New York City premiere at the Upper West Side theater of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated “The Odyssey.”

    The premiere on Tuesday is a private, red-carpet screening of the film, which will open in theaters across the United States, including in New York City, on Friday, July 17.

    The wooden horse is part of Universal Pictures’ “Odyssey Trojan Horse Touring” experience. Prior to New York City, the horse was in Arlington, Texas, and Venice Beach, California. It is unclear exactly how long the statue will be outside the Upper West Side theater.

    Photo by Sam Gross.

    “Don’t take it inside!” one person wrote on Reddit about the Trojan Horse.

    The statue was surrounded by significant staging on Monday and is taking up one of the traffic lanes on Broadway.

    W42ST was the first publication to report on the giant wooden horse statue outside of the Upper West Side theater.

    “The Odyssey” is the story of Odysseus’ famous journey home after the Trojan War. The cast of Nolan’s film includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattison, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron.

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    Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.

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    54 Comments
    sam
    sam
    2 months ago

    Hmmm….anyone hiding inside that horse 🙂

    7
    Reply
    brave in nyc
    brave in nyc
    2 months ago
    Reply to  sam

    Would say: it has deeper symbol in spiritual sense that is. Plus from side taken picture looks more like reptilian creature than horse

    Last edited 2 months ago by brave in nyc
    5
    Reply
    neighbor
    neighbor
    2 months ago
    Reply to  brave in nyc

    Just what I was thinking. Kind of creepy.

    1
    Reply
    Unblockable
    Unblockable
    2 months ago

    Proof Hollywood has 0 ideas. But at least this story isn’t widely known.

    7
    Reply
    Manhattan parent
    Manhattan parent
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Unblockable

    Not know how? I think most people are familiar with “the story”.

    13
    Reply
    caly
    caly
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Unblockable

    Hmm? There’s the book…the History Channel, an animated series, a TV mini-series and at least 2 Helen of Troy movies, although I’m sure this will be the most sensational of them all. It’s certainly well known enough that there was a massive backlash over casting.

    11
    Reply
    evi
    evi
    2 months ago
    Reply to  caly

    The mini-series – 1995?
    Armand Assante, Irene Pappas, Isabella Rosselini

    1
    Reply
    Katina Ellison
    Katina Ellison
    2 months ago
    Reply to  evi

    Yes, Irene Pappas was anazing and I wish they had some Greek or Greek-American actors in this cast!

    1
    Reply
    Spock
    Spock
    2 months ago
    Reply to  caly

    20 years ago, this role would have been perfect for Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, not so much.

    9
    Reply
    caly
    caly
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Spock

    ITA! After Sean Bean played Odysseus in Troy there was talk of a sequel but that never happened. Either he or RC would have been amazing in the role.

    3
    Reply
    Unblockable
    Unblockable
    2 months ago
    Reply to  caly

    Never heard of it. Odd.

    2
    Reply
    sam
    sam
    2 months ago
    Reply to  caly

    So many movies with casting controversies – such as recent Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw or older like old Kevin Costner as Robin Hood and Al Pacino in Revolution…..

    2
    Reply
    Manhattan parent
    Manhattan parent
    2 months ago
    Reply to  caly

    I don’t think this director is going to stick to Homer’s work. He has his own style, and the cast might very well work.

    I saw two adaptations of Anna Karenina, and they were awful. They just took expensive, well-known actors, put them in a modernized setting, and the entire drama was lost.

    I do have hope for this movie, though. So it really depends on what direction Nolan decides to take.

    5
    Reply
    Anon
    Anon
    2 months ago

    Was it really necessary to block off 2 1/2 lanes to do this so there was only one travel lane?

    14
    Reply
    MSA
    MSA
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Anon

    I believe Broadway 66-69th uptown will be closed entirely (?) on Tuesday late afternoon -evening for the event.

    If so buses M5, M7, M104 will be detoured.

    4
    Reply
    Longtime UWSer
    Longtime UWSer
    2 months ago
    Reply to  MSA

    The 66th #1 uptown train wasn’t available on Sunday as horse erection got underway

    4
    Reply
    nestor
    nestor
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Longtime UWSer

    The horse has an erection?

    2
    Reply
    Kashmira
    Kashmira
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Longtime UWSer

    Not to mention that they started working at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning. We woke up to incessant beeping from the trucks, and it went on for hours. I always thought there were hours they couldn’t do work like that, but I guess that’s changed.

    4
    Reply
    Anon
    Anon
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Kashmira

    What does the neighborhood get for all this inconvenience? I’m guessing nothing but I’d love to be proved wrong.

    4
    Reply
    Neighbor785
    Neighbor785
    2 months ago

    Usually the Trojan Horse is depicted as supported by four “legs.” If the belly is horizontal, more Greek soldiers can hide inside, no?

    12
    Reply
    Elf
    Elf
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Neighbor785

    Ya know you can stack those greek soldiers, right? In fact, many of them are into that sort of thing…

    0
    Reply
    evi
    evi
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Neighbor785

    I heard someone chat with the crew and relating that the horse looked “wrong”

    5
    Reply
    Christian
    Christian
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Neighbor785

    Two in each leg. Max!

    2
    Reply
    Paul
    Paul
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Neighbor785

    Correct. The horse should not be rearing. That is not accurate at all.

    8
    Reply
    Martha
    Martha
    2 months ago

    I wonder when is the last time anybody read The Odyssey, let alone The Iliad.

    12
    Reply
    MJB
    MJB
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Martha

    In some public high schools right now – summer reading

    Last edited 2 months ago by MJB
    7
    Reply
    Sam
    Sam
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Martha

    They are both required reading for every Columbia University student.

    11
    Reply
    caly
    caly
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Martha

    My niece and nephew are in high school and they’ve read both books.

    I didn’t realize this was something unusual.

    Last edited 2 months ago by caly
    12
    Reply
    Wijmlet
    Wijmlet
    2 months ago

    Trumpian

    0
    Reply
    Mike
    Mike
    2 months ago

    Looks more like a t-rex from this angle. Should have budgeted a horse anatomist to get those forelegs right…

    14
    Reply
    Lee Miller
    Lee Miller
    2 months ago

    Hope an activist will add a harness and carriage with mannequins inside to highlight the deaths and accidents in the Park, or perhaps a plaque in commemoration of all the horses who died in the Park and surrounding streets

    7
    Reply
    Peggy Uptown
    Peggy Uptown
    2 months ago

    When they’re done with it there, they can install it on the steps of the AMNH to replace Teddy Roosevelt.

    9
    Reply
    Steevie
    Steevie
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Peggy Uptown

    Is it made of bronze or papier mache?

    1
    Reply
    Tim
    Tim
    2 months ago

    So excited for this movie. Finally, something worth seeing.

    1
    Reply
    Garr Doug
    Garr Doug
    2 months ago

    I hope it’s not the mess Interstellar was.

    0
    Reply
    Ellen Massey
    Ellen Massey
    2 months ago

    Whew! I was afraid it was permanent.

    4
    Reply
    Christian
    Christian
    2 months ago

    Jesus, it’s gotta be hot as hell inside that horse! There’s a Greek deli right off 71st where they can cool off!

    2
    Reply
    Sky
    Sky
    2 months ago

    They really did not read the book. The wooden horse was a ploy to conceal an army inside its body. This can only hold a very small group of people.

    4
    Reply
    Elf
    Elf
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Sky

    Not an army. Only enough people to sneak out in the middle of the night and open the gates to let the besieging army in. Seems like they’d have several people guarding the gate knowing their were Trojans out there. Of course, I doubt that was an actual historical event to begin with.

    3
    Reply
    MJB
    MJB
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Sky

    It is fiction, people! Creative take.

    7
    Reply
    Ginger
    Ginger
    2 months ago

    Maybe “Black Beauty” is the second feature.

    3
    Reply
    Steve_UWS
    Steve_UWS
    2 months ago

    are you sure it isn’t a marketing gimmick for the new electric Ferrari Lupe?

    1
    Reply
    Rachel
    Rachel
    2 months ago

    Going by the trailer, this version looks dark and dull.

    2
    Reply
    Dino Vercotti
    Dino Vercotti
    2 months ago

    Looks like an ad for Ferrari.

    1
    Reply
    CeeBeeBo
    CeeBeeBo
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Dino Vercotti

    Maybe Michael Schumacher is inside?

    0
    Reply
    Steevie
    Steevie
    2 months ago

    I have not seen the movie, but I have seen the trailers numerous times. It is available to view in the article. My review of the trailer is that it does not look too good. The actors are all talking in these whispery voices because what the are saying is so very important. I do not know what 2 hours and 35 minutes of this stuff will go over.

    2
    Reply
    caly
    caly
    2 months ago
    Reply to  Steevie

    Two words: deception and betrayal. There’s a lot to be whispering about.

    1
    Reply
    Elf
    Elf
    2 months ago

    Dudes, if I were you, I’d LOOK INSIDE THAT THING!

    2
    Reply
    tego
    tego
    2 months ago

    Hope the film follows the book and not modified, simplified, made nice, for an American audience. I’ve seen other stories changed of simplified for that simple audience.

    1
    Reply
    AnnieNYC
    AnnieNYC
    2 months ago

    Looks more like any generic “Stallion with an attitude” movie prop, rather than the Trojan Horse, which I believe would be standing on all 4 legs to allow troops to hide in its belly … A rearing horse like this, and there’d be no hidden soldiers capable of sneaking into anything … But, I guess this is Hollywood taking artistic license to its max, eh? Oh well.

    1
    Reply
    Steve M
    Steve M
    2 months ago

    Mandami was inside that thing – and like the Greeks, NYC fell for it!

    1
    Reply
    kort
    kort
    2 months ago

    who permitted this to be placed in the roadway? gale brewer?

    1
    Reply
    David Lipsky
    David Lipsky
    2 months ago

    Does the Trojan horse winnie with a Boston accent? I love Matt Damon, but as Odysseus? This may be his Tony Curtis moment.

    1
    Reply
    DAN TULLY
    DAN TULLY
    1 month ago

    i’M FOR ANY FILE WITH
    Charlize Theron

    0
    Reply

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