Focus Features’ The Uprising stars Andrew Garfield in a 1381 Peasants' Revolt drama—but new marketing suggests it might actually be a stealth Robin Hood origin story.
“To the rich, he was an outlaw. To the people, he was a hero. Witness the rise of Robin Hood in The Uprising, only in theaters September 11,” according to this post from the film’s official X account. Until this point in the publicity campaign, none of the movie’s marketing materials revealed any such ties to the iconic outlaw.
This ad revealed the film’s new title as The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood. It shows Garfield’s character, dressed in a green hood, emerging from the woods to confront the King and his soldiers. He is accompanied by his fellow highwaymen, who wield bows and arrows. “There will be no peace until we are free. Time to pay,” Garfield’s character declares at swordpoint.
To the rich, he was an outlaw. To the people, he was a hero. Witness the rise of Robin Hood in THE UPRISING, only in theaters September 11.
A day after this ad was released the film’s title was changed back to being just The Uprising.
The film’s UK distributor even released a statement denying The Uprising is a Robin Hood movie (via Metro): “Marketing materials posted by other countries that may appear in the UK online and on social media referencing Robin Hood are not issued or approved by us.”
The Uprising had been understood to be about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which was led by historical figures Wat Tyler (played by Shogun’s Cosmo Jarvis) and John Ball (played by Jamie Bell). Garfield’s character Ploughman was thought to represent the Everyman peasant pushed by misfortune into taking up arms against the crown.
The Uprising’s original US production notes – made available in advance to stateside press for the film’s junket – did not reveal any ties to Robin Hood. Garfield’s character was referred to as merely Ploughman. The original plot synopsis read:
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/andrew-garfield-the-uprising-robin-hood
