'Robin Hood' Origins Reboot: 'Kingsman' Star Taron Egerton Aims Arrow in First Photos
"Kingsman" star Taron Egerton tackles a legendary character in his next film. The 28-year-old actor is the new Robin Hood in the rebooted movie and his first photos as the skilled archer are making the rounds online.
Lionsgate released a set of photos for "Robin Hood" featuring Egerton with co-stars Eve Hewson (Maid Marian) and Jaime Foxx (Little John). Countless films and TV shows about these characters appeared before and the new photos only offer a few hints about how different this rebooted version is from earlier productions.
Director Otto Bathhurst, however, explained his vision for this "Robin Hood" reboot in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He knew after landing the job to helm the film that his version won't feature men in tights, for one thing.
"In my mind, Robin Hood was this sort of seriously militarized anarchist revolutionary, a freedom thinker and a truth seeker," Bathhurst said. "The more I got into the story, it just became startling how utterly relevant it is to what's going on in society now."
Egerton initially hesitated about playing a role that has been done over and over with the likes of Kevin Costner, Russell Crow, Cary Elwes and Sean Connery, among others. He, however, trusted his director's vision and marveled at the outcome of the movie.
"The first act of the movie, these scenes crusading in Syria, were written like something from 'The Hurt Locker,'" Egerton said. "It was fantastic, and that was enough to convince me."
"Robin Hood" is one of at least seven reboots in the works about this medieval story. Warner Bros and Dreamworks have their own versions as well, along with solo movies about Maid Marian and the band of Merry Men.
Lionsgate version, which was originally called "Robin Hood: Origins," also stars Jamie Dornan (Will Scarlet), Ben Mendelsohn (Sheriff of Nottingham), Paul Anderson (Guy of Gisborne) and Tim Minchin (Friar Tuck). "Robin Hood" will arrive in theaters on September 2018.
