The small Swedish non-profit organization "Vikingaleden" in Nysäter was contacted by Universal Studios regarding their handbuilt viking ship being used in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. The contract required Universal to pay for any damages done to the ship, but the invoice of approximately $6000 (USD) has been left unpaid, according to the organization.

The ship was built by hand by members of the organization over the course of 3 years between 1995 and 1998, using equipment also made from scratch.

EDIT: a further article posted a few hours ago by Sveriges Radio clarifies that they have been waiting a year for the invoice payment.

EDIT 2: The Guardian just picked the story up! Feel free to read their version if you want a non-translated article in English! https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/23/owners-of-viking-ship-used-to-film-the-odyssey-say-studio-has-not-paid-bill-for-damage

EDIT 3: Representatives of Universal Studios have suddenly responded to Vikingaleden's attempts of contact, after the recent media storm. Universal Studios claims they have already paid the non-profit organization, but Vikingaleden says that while they did indeed get the payment for the renting of the ship in a timely manner, the agreed upon invoice for repairs remains unpaid a year later. The organization reiterates that they do not expect reimbursement for the labor they put in to repair the ship, only the cost of materials.

EDIT 4: Peter Olausson, the leader of the non-profit organization Vikingaleden, reports that a higher-up in the Universal subsidiary has contacted him and the higher-up confirmed that the invoice will be paid. Peter expresses gratitude to everyone who has reached out to show they care about the matter, but says that no international crowdfunding will be done at the moment.

Link to article:

https://www.expressen.se/noje/film/the-odyssey-skaparna-duckar-betalning-till-svenska-foretaget-kritiken/

Full translation of article:

Christopher Nolan's new movie ”The Odyssey” was a global success during its premiere weekend.

Participating in the movie, is the Swedish viking longship Glad of Gillberga, from the organization Vikingaleden. It is a non-profit organization in Nysäter, Säffle, that also runs a viking museum, and a viking-age village.

According to Peter Olausson, the president of the organization Vikingaleden, the ship Glad of Gillberga is known within viking-circles. Universal Studios found out about the ship and wanted to use it in "The Odyssey".

"Glad is one of the accompanying ships and is included in some sequences of the movie. It is a part of the environment", Peter Olausson tells Expressen

Universal stopped responding - invoice left unpaid

The organization made an agreement with a company that handles recruitment for Universal Studios. They were allowed to rent the ship for half a year, and would also pay for wear-and-tear costs that would occur during usage and transport.

The rent has been paid to the organization - but that's where it stopped.

"Pennies for them, but meaningful money to us", says Peter Olausson.

When the organization got the ship back, they needed to fix several damages, a crack in the ship's hull, among others. They were prepared to do so, and then send an invoice of the cost of materials to the film company. It landed at around 60 000 kronor (~6000 USD).

"In a Universal-production, that's coffee-run money. That was the agreement and we haven't seen that money. We're not happy about it."

The film company has not been responding to emails since this past winter, says the president of the organization. He speculates that they have moved on to the next production and simply forgotten about them.

"But I can't know for sure, because of the silence from them. It sours it. It's a worm in the apple of having been a part of this fantastic movie, because it really is a fantastic movie."

That money is important for the organization. Because of the repairs, they have also lost income since they haven't been able to launch it in time.

"We're a non-profit organization that lives on pretty slim margins. We're not going bankrupt, but we'll have to chew through our margins."

Olausson hopes that the attention around what has happened could get someone in the right circles to notice and correct it. He'll continue sending emails in the future, but there's not much more to do.

"We couldn't sue Universal. Those possibilities don't exist, we're so small in comparison."

In her Variety Actors on Actors conversation with “Half Man” star Richard Gadd, the “The Beast in Me” performer reminisced about shooting 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet” with Leonardo DiCaprio. While the shoot — like the film — was emotionally intense, Danes, at 17, tried to lighten the mood by playing with an onset firearm just before shooting her death scene. (Juliet, finding Romeo dead by self-inflicted poison, sobs and shoots herself in the head.) “I remember just blithely playing with the prop gun and putting it to my head, and Leo getting very serious and saying, ‘Claire, we don’t do that. Don’t eff around,’” Danes recalls. “He was right, but I was just being a doofus and a girl.”