So I’m convinced that M. Night Shyamalan is now directing the marketing and announcements for Ridley Scott’s upcoming movie, Robin Hood — formerly known as Nottingham.
First we heard about the movie and that it starred Russell Crowe as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Then we heard various names who may be playing Robin Hood. Then, shockingly, we heard that Crowe was Nottingham AND Robin Hood… our minds blew. Now comes word that Nottingham doesn’t even really have that big a role, Crowe will just play Robin Hood, and that the movie will actually just go with the same old standby title, Robin Hood.
Ridley Scott spoke to MTV and explained the confusion…
[Crowe as both Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham] was an idea so far back, way back when at the time I had this proposed to me, and I read it and thought, ‘I don’t really know what it does for it, but it’s alright’. It is better to simply have the evolution of a character called Robin Hood, who will come out of a point in the Crusades which is the end.
Instead, it looks like the movie will simply concentrate on Robin Hood as an archer in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion, and as opposed to the normal Nottingham villain, the villain will actually be France.
It is from France. It is the French. The villain is much bigger in that sense; much more important, and much more dangerous.
[In] 1066 Harold II went against William the Conqueror. Harold took an arrow in his eye, and William the Conqueror took over England, and so France owned everything right through. Even to the extent of changing the architecture of the churches from Anglo-Saxon to Roman, that’s French; they changed the arches in the churches.
So now I see this project as still being the unconventional looking Robin Hood we’ve expected, but now with a very Kingdom of Heaven kind of look and feel to it, no?
Either way, it’s still Ridley Scott and it’s still Russell Crow. On we go.
