The Death of Robin Hood cast says the movie's rather surprising hyperviolence is essential when it comes to telling this unique story about the folklore legend... and there's no exaggeration when we say that it's the darkest depiction of Robin Hood ever made.
"I think it sets up very clearly and distinctly the world in which he's from," Comer tells GamesRadar+. "You learn very quickly, you get such a huge impression of the life that he's lived, the way in which he meets the world, which I think is kind of fundamental to the journey that he goes on at the priory."
Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, the movie stars Hugh Jackman as an aging Robin Hood in 13th-century England who is forced to grapple with his life of crime after nearly dying... and being spared by the universe somehow.
"[Sarnoski's] depicting this past that was horrible," Bill Skarsgard agrees. Thirteenth-century England was probably not the coolest time to be around. And how little value life had... The scene that we have where it's like I just clobber a guy for a loaf of bread – and [my character is] super stoked about it. This is what establishes this universe. And then it's kind of Robin's path to salvation from that."
But it's Little John's reckless and violent life that leads to his home being overtaken by a rival family... and it's here where the gore truly amps up (and we see jaws ripping in half, torches being shoved down throats, and arrows going through eye sockets). The second half of the film sees Robin Hood end up at a priory, where he is looked after by Jodie Comer's Brigid, a woman who has devoted her life to God and in service of others, and meets Murray Bartlett's Leper, both of whom meet him with a softness and kindness that Robin has not known for quite some time (though they're both unaware of his true identity).
"I remember the first time I read it in that first section, that is so brutal. And I was like, 'I don't know that I can be in this,'" Bartlett admitted. "I find it really hard to watch that kind of brutality. I read the rest of the script, and I'm like, oh, it just, it's so important because it says so much about Robin Hood. He kinda goes on a rough journey in the second part of the film, but there is a lot of soulfulness and soul searching in the second half, with the context of the first half... it makes it very rich, I think."
The Death of Robin Hood hits US theaters on June 19 and releases in UK cinemas on September 4. For more on what to watch, check out our guide to the other most exciting upcoming movies on the way.
