An excerpt from my script review for The Death of Robin Hood which will be available 08/24/26:
1.) Marketability of the Idea
This is Robin at the end of his career, and looking for the righteous death he feels he’s owed for all the crimes he’s committed.
It’s a dark take.
(Here’s an article that talks about Robin Hood in general, and this project in particular.)
What we won’t get is the above rose colored version we grew up with.
(A version that apparently Michael Sarnoski showed to cast and crew because it was a favorite of his growing up.)
Again…his version is not that Robin Hood.
I came across an interview with him where the interviewer was discussing the script, and how it’s different from earlier installments.
In the same interview, Sarnoski talked about the one scene where Robin and Little John are preparing to take back the farm stolen from John, focusing primarily on how the two men get naked and rub dirt all over themselves.
Listen, why they do it makes perfect sense, but Sarnoski was a little too into this scene as he described it, trying a bit too hard to force character building, and making it more than it was forced me to tune out.
But I think he missed the bigger picture…
This version of Robin Hood wasn’t good, and in his old age he now has to deal with the consequences of his youth, at one point stating that he’s had to fight off not only siblings and children of those he murdered, but now grandchildren, and of victims he can’t even recall the names of.
That’s what makes this version so interesting is the “real” Robin Hood dealing with the consequences and how they contrast to the stories being fantasized about him.
One of the things I want to mention here is that this felt more up A24’s alley than a few of the previous scripts we reviewed.
Sure it has the “artsy” angle they strive for, but it’s also an interesting story being told in a style that suits that particular studio.
The Death of Robin hood Box Office Stats
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