January 2023, a new musical took the world by storm and changed the face of musical theatre forever. What started as a passion project quickly developped into a global phenomenon, amassing millions of TikTok views and topping iTunes’ US show-tunes chart.

Jorge Rivera-Herran’s first endeavour, Epic: The Musical told the tale of Odysseus’ 20-year journey home through several challenges – being challenged by gods and monsters. Divided into nine EPs, the musical was released between january 2023 and december 2024 and featured mostly unknown voices, all casted through social media, like Teagan Earley and Luke Holt.

Since the sagas ended on December 25th, 2025, fans have been begging for a new musical project from Jay, suggesting a retelling of the myth of Achilles and Patroclus or the Iliad. And it seems that their prayers have been heard since it was recently announced that a musical retelling of the Iliad was in the work, with Jay returning as the songwriter.

The Iliad tells the story of Greek warrior Achilles’ great anger and the tragic death of Hector during the Trojan War, encapsulating the brutality of war. The poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to its wrenching, tragic conclusion.

Ilium, the working title of this new projet, will not only be a retelling of Homer’s Iliad but should also include the events leading up to the Trojans war. According to Jay, characters like Hector and Cassandra could have a fuller arc for exemple and not entirely only rely on their role in the Trojans War.

“I want to explore when pride saves you, when it damns you, and where humility fits in.” Jorge Rivera-Herrans. 

Musically, we can still expect Jay to draw inspiration from video games (Clair Obscur : Expedition 33 is a strong contender for top inspiration material), animes and a mix of orchestral rock, latin rythm and pop sound, as well as epic orchestration. So far, Jay only unveiled the title of the first song, “Fire”, some lyrics and the first character who fans are speculating could be King Priam or Cassandra.

Though we don’t know yet if Ilium will follow the same pattern as EPIC, it’s even harder to pinpoint exactly who could potentially be the leading character after (or before) Odysseus. A lot of characters are involved in the Iliad including Achilles and Patroclus, King Priam, princes Hector and Pâris, Menelaus and, of course, the Gods.

It is expected that epic songs will depict battles, some ballads could feature lovers like Helen and Paris or Achilles and Patroclus and rap-battle-like songs could includes the gods, much like God Games in the Wisdom Saga.

Keep your eyes peeled on Jay’s social media where he will be updating the progress and evolution of the projet. Actors, voices, animator, artists… If you were late for EPIC, here is your chance to be early for Ilium and get involved!