Ahead of its release on September 10, Focus Features has announced that Paul Greengrass' The Uprising is now titled The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood, with Andrew Garfield starring as the legendary British outlaw.
This reveal has caused a bit of confusion, since the movie was initially marketed as a retelling of the true events surrounding the 1381 English Peasants’ Revolt against King Richard II, which sprang from the oppressive taxes and feudal restrictions enforced during his reign.
The updated synopsis reads: “Set against the true events of the Uprising that helped inspire the legend of Robin Hood. [Garfield’s character] forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice.”
We assume the Robin Hood reveal was originally going to be saved as a surprise, and Focus Features figured giving the twist away might get more butts in seats. The decision could pay off, although the studio might be vastly overestimating Mr. Hood's drawing power.
Garfield spoke about the movie in a recent Esquire interview.
“The truth of that period of time was that there were brutal conditions for working-class people, brutal taxation post-plague, incompetence in government, abusive practices, with the underclass being seen as sub-human creatures from the perspective of those in power.”
“One of the things that’s cool about this film is that it’s a bit of a Rorschach Test,” he continued. “A lot of differently politically aligned people will go, ‘Oh, it’s me!’ We get into really dicey territory — and to not see the [British far-right activist] Tommy Robinson stuff as anything but despicable is just ignorant — but I’m sure a bunch of people will look at this film and go, ‘England first! What about us?’ It’ll be very interesting in that regard.”
The supporting cast features Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot; Snowpiercer), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones; The Hour), Tom Hollander (Pirates of the Caribbean; The White Lotus), Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit; Last Night in Soho), Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting; Elementary), Woody Norman (C'mon C'mon; The Last Voyage of the Demeter), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Inherent Vice), Sky Yang (Rebel Moon; Halo), and Cosmo Jarvis (Shōgun; Lady Macbeth) as real-life rebel leader Wat Tyler.