The Uprising Director Paul Green Grass Explains Connection Between Andrew Garfield's Outlaw And Robin Hood

Andrew Garfield’s Surprising Robin Hood Connection In The Uprising Explained Published Sep 11, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT Richard Craig is a Senior Author at Screen Rant covering film and TV. Richard has also written extensively about horror and film soundtracks, contributing a chapter to the first major academic collection on the folk horror genre, The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror. Richard is also a performing musician and holds an MA in Music and Sound Art. A new interview with The Uprising director Paul Greengrass has finally clarified the relationship between Andrew Garfield's mysterious outlaw and one of England's most famous folk heroes. Since The Uprising's marketing campaign shifted in its final weeks, audiences have been debating whether it is actually a Robin Hood movie disguised as a historical drama or something entirely different. Set during the 1381 Peasants' Revolt, The Uprising follows Garfield's enigmatic character, known throughout most of the film simply as the Ploughman. It appeared to be a historical drama based on the rebellion itself, depicting the widespread unrest against the poll taxes imposed under King Richard II's government. That seemingly changed significantly when the film received a new subtitle. Suddenly, promotional artwork featured Garfield carrying a bow and wearing imagery more traditionally associated with the legendary outlaw. Marketing slogans encouraged audiences to witness the birth of Robin Hood, creating speculation that Greengrass had secretly produced an origin story for the iconic character. As a result, audiences entered The Uprising with very different expectations regarding Garfield's character and how closely the story would connect to English folklore. Greengrass has now addressed those questions directly, explaining that the answer is more complicated than either side of the debate might expect. The Uprising Robin Hood Confusion Explained Whether or not Andrew Garfield is playing Robin Hood in The Uprising isn't quite as clear-cut as it appears. For most of its marketing campaign, The Uprising was presented as a gritty historical drama about the 1381 Peasants' Revolt. Trailers, posters, and official synopses focused on medieval England's growing unrest. Late in the movie’s promotion, a new subtitle was seemingly added: The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood. This sparked widespread confusion. Some promotional materials encouraged audiences to "Witness the Rise of Robin Hood," while new artwork depicted Garfield wearing a hood and carrying a bow. At the same time, distributors in other territories insisted the film was not a Robin Hood movie at all and continued marketing it simply as The Uprising. Rather than presenting Garfield as the traditional Robin of Locksley popularized by countless film and television adaptations, The Uprising appears to be exploring the historical and cultural conditions that eventually gave rise to the Robin Hood legend itself. That distinction explains why some marketing materials emphasize Robin Hood while others focus almost entirely on the Peasants' Revolt. Director Paul Greengrass On How Andrew Garfield's Outlaw Connects To The Legend Speaking with Screen Rant, Greengrass explained that the film's ending naturally invites comparisons to Robin Hood because Garfield's character ultimately becomes a green-hooded outlaw. However, the director stressed that this development is rooted in historical reality rather than an attempt to recreate the familiar Robin Hood mythology. According to Greengrass, the term "Robin Hood" existed before the events of the Peasants' Revolt as a nickname associated with criminals and outlaws. He noted that names such as "Robin Hood," "Robber Hood," or simply "the Hood" functioned more as labels than references to a specific historical individual. The director argued that the famous Robin Hood legend emerged after the Peasants' Revolt, when people began telling stories and singing ballads about rebels who challenged wealthy and powerful authorities. In Greengrass' view, these stories reflected popular desires for a heroic outlaw figure who fought on behalf of ordinary peopl Importantly, Greengrass distinguished this version of Robin Hood from the aristocratic Robin of Locksley seen in many modern adaptations. He described the nobleman-turned-outlaw interpretation as a much later development that owes as much to film and popular culture as it does to folklore. Read Greengrass’s full comments below: "The problem we had is that it's where the film ends. In the end, our character ends up as an outlaw, but it's absolutely true to history. The [name] Robin Hood - Robber the Hood, or the Hood - was a moniker that started to be used prior to the Peasants' Revolt. It just meant a criminal, essentially. After the Peasants' Revolt, people told great ballads about outlaws, particularly Robin Hood. Robin Hood, the great rise of Robin Hood as a legend, was after the Peasants. Revolt. And it happened because people wanted to tell stories about an outlaw who stood up against the rich and powerful in their favor. That's why Robin Hood began. But that Robin Hood had nothing to do with Robin of Locksley, the dispossessed aristocrat. That was a modern invention, and partly a movie invention. The real legend of Robin Hood arose in the wake of these events, and he was the kind of outlaw figure that you see in this film. I dig it! I called it The Hood initially, so I'm down with it." That explanation places Garfield's Ploughman in an interesting position. He is not literally playing the Robin Hood most audiences recognize, but he embodies the type of rebellious outlaw figure who helped inspire the legend's growth. In that sense, The Uprising functions less as a traditional Robin Hood origin story and more as an exploration of the historical moment that allowed the myth to flourish. Release Date September 11, 2026 Runtime 128 Minutes Director Paul Greengrass Writers Paul Greengrass Producers Gregory Goodman, Jason Blum, Joanna Kaye, Lars Sylvest, Paul Greengrass, Joe Neurauter Cast