The cast and plot for Ridley Scott‘s upcoming take on the tale of Robin Hood (formerly known as Nottingham) has come together finally. The movie is currently in production in the U.K. with leads Russell Crowe as Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett as Lady Marion.

Joining the two stars will be legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave (Julia, Atonement) as Queen Eleanor; Mark Strong (Stardust, Sunshine) will play Sir Godfrey; Scott Grimes (ER, American Dad) will play Will Scarlet; Oscar Issac (Che, Body of Lies) as King John; Léa Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) will play French Princess Isabella; Kevin Durand (Mystery, Alaska, Lost) will handle the duties of Little John; and lastly, Alan Doyle as Allan Adayle.

Along with the impressive cast, Universal also put out an official synopsis of the movie, so we know what to expect. It paints a decent picture of the more realistic and less fairy tale world that Ridley is aiming for.

Click over for the full synopsis!

It’s being reported that Cate Blanchett will now be playing the role of Maid Marian in director Ridley Scott‘s new telling of the tale of Robin Hood, formerly known as Nottingham. Originally set to play the role was Sienna Miller. And although she’s a talented actress, you can’t ask for a better replacement than Blanchett.

The movie stars Russell Crowe as the famed character, Robin of Loxley. Though in this version, the movie will tell an tale of origins, looking at the story from a historically accurate perspective of those times. The story will follow Robin, who as a child was abandoned. He finds a home with the lower class people, where he grows up with issues of trust, and where he develops his affinity for the movement of the wealthy folk’s property to more needful hands.

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…

MTV sat mega-producer Brian Grazer down and had a little talk with him. In said chat, Grazer was asked about the rumor floating around that Russell Crowe would be playing both Robin Hood AND the Sheriff of Nottingham in Ridley Scott‘s upcoming Nottingham. Unfortunately, Grazer may have explained the situation while finding some miraculous way to add more damn confusion to the pie.

There is a tad of a possible spoiler mentioned here. It involves the very beginning of the movie, not the end, but either way, you’ve been warned.

Recently, we covered the story that Russell Crowe would be playing both the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood in Ridley Scott‘s Nottingham.

The news was said to be straight from the mouth of Scott, so it had to be true.

In the comments section on the story we were lead to a Russell Crowe fan-site that has a “quote” from Crowe saying that he’s not doing both roles.

On the site, called Murph’s Place, Crowe says: