Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 17
Hugh Jackman Nearly Quit 'The Death of Robin Hood' Ahead of June 19 Release
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 17

Hugh Jackman Nearly Quit 'The Death of Robin Hood' Ahead of June 19 Release

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 17

Summary

  • Hugh Jackman said he came "close to pulling the plug" while filming the most brutal fight in "The Death of Robin Hood," a winter night shoot in Ireland that left him at his physical limit.
  • That sequence is central to the film's grim take on Robin Hood: Jackman plays a hardened outlaw who says the heroic legend is false and who committed atrocities for power and thrill.
  • Director Michael Sarnoski said the movie draws loosely from old Robin Hood ballads, arguing its violence is rooted in the brutality of the original stories rather than a modern subversion.
  • Jodie Comer co-stars as prioress Brigid, who nurses a gravely injured Robin and helps drive what Jackman called the film's "beautiful, redemptive arc" despite its visceral gore.
  • The film, which also recasts Little John as a traumatized survivor of Robin's crimes, reaches theaters on June 19.

Insights

Will this dark role become Hugh Jackman's most iconic since Wolverine?
Can this hyper-violent Robin Hood finally break the curse of failed gritty reboots?
Does the film's brutal violence overshadow its promised message of redemption?