A24 Picks Up 'The Death of Robin Hood' with Hugh Jackman & Jodie Comer
Jodie Comer as Marguerite de Carrouges in 'The Last Duel'
20th Century Studios
The Cannes Market has at least one more British "Hot Package" movie that's guaranteed to start filming when the paperwork says it will: Director Michael Sarnoski's (A Quiet Place) new take on Robin Hood, which has been scooped up by the mega-successful indie producer A24. With actors Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) and Jodie Comer (The Last Duel) attached to star as the titular Robin Hood and a woman who will probably turn out to be Maid Marian, the film, entitled The Death of Robin Hood, is a "darker" take on the nearly 650-year-old myth.
As we discussed over the weekend, when the Tom Hiddleston-starring Tenzing got picked up, the projects referred to as "Hot Packages" that turn up at the Cannes Market (which readers can think of as a side bazaar of potential and/or recently finished films looking for buyers to fund production/distribution) are not always guaranteed to find someone to take them on. Sometimes, they get made anyway, especially those that are passion projects for those involved, and then, once they exist as a finished film, someone picks them up. (Riz Ahmed's Hamlet is a perfect example of that.)
But something like a "dark and gritty Robin Hood," with an in-demand director and two major A-listers who will quickly find other films to be in, are one-shots. If they don't get taken here, they probably won't happen. This uncertainty is why actors like Andrea Riseborough (Alice & Jack) sign on for multiple Cannes "Hot Packages" hoping to land a deal. (She's currently attached to the Isabella Blow biopic The Queen of Fashion and the Vanessa Redgrave-starrer The Nest, of which only the latter has found funding, though not a distributor.)
Hugh Jackman as Tomás Creo in 'The Fountain'
Warner Bros. Pictures
Here is the film's synopsis:
The film follows an aging Robin Hood grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder who finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.
No other cast has been set, which is unsurprising for a Cannes package at this early date, considering production on the film is planned for February 2025. Sarnoski and Jackman are listed as executive producers, along with Rama Gottumukkala, Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers for Lyrical Media, which is fully financing the film. Alexander Black is producing alongside Ryder and Andrew Swett under the Ryder Picture Company. A24 is promising a full theatrical release for the film, and probably will aim for it to play for the 2025-2026 awards season.
More cast is expected to be announced closer to filming, with a release date probably in late 2025.
