The Andrew Garfield Robin Hood film has been confirmed under its full title: The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood, with studio Focus Features releasing new clips and an official synopsis that finally names the legendary outlaw at its centre.
The film, written and directed by Paul Greengrass, had previously been described only as a story about “the legendary leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II” set during the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England. Those with Robin Hood on the brain were on exactly the right track.
The official synopsis now reads: “Set against the true events of the Uprising that helped inspire the legend of Robin Hood, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice.”
A long road to the Andrew Garfield Robin Hood film
What makes the project’s journey to screen all the more intriguing is just how many shapes it took before arriving here. According to MTN (Movie TV News), the film was first announced back in 2022 under the title The Hood, with Benedict Cumberbatch attached to the lead role. It was subsequently reworked as The Rage, this time with Matthew McConaughey set to star. Both versions fell away before Garfield came aboard and Greengrass shaped the project into what Focus Features is now releasing.
That kind of development arc, changing titles, swapping leads, rethinking the whole premise, is not unusual for big prestige productions, but it does underline just how much this Robin Hood retelling has been in motion. The result, at least on paper, is a film grounded in actual medieval history rather than the more fantastical takes audiences have seen before.
A cast built for the 14th century
Alongside Garfield in the central role, The Uprising brings together a substantial ensemble. Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane and Tom Hollander feature, as do Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman and Katherine Waterston. It is the kind of cast that suggests Focus Features is positioning this as serious awards-season fare rather than a straightforward action blockbuster.
The Peasants’ Revolt backdrop gives Greengrass’s film a grounding in real events: a mass uprising in 1381 that saw thousands march on London in protest against taxation and feudal conditions. Mapping the Robin Hood legend onto that uprising is a different proposition from the Sherwood Forest archery contests most adaptations lean on.
Robin Hood is having a moment on screen
The Uprising arrives at an interesting time for the legend more broadly. An MGM+ series focused on Robin Hood is currently preparing its second season, having become one of the streaming service’s “top-performing original series of all time” after its premiere. That show stars Jack Patten as Robin Hood, Lauren McQueen as Marian of Huntingdon and Sean Bean as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The new series of episodes promises “new alliances, formidable enemies, and even greater stakes”, with fresh characters set to “shift the political landscape, forcing Rob and his allies to navigate shifting loyalties, royal power struggles and dangerous new threats.” Two very different takes on the same myth, then, heading towards screens within a relatively short window of each other.
The Uprising hits UK cinemas on 9 October. In the United States, Focus Features has scheduled its theatrical release for 10 September 2026, putting the American release ahead of the UK date by several weeks.
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