Andrew Garfield’s The Uprising Sends Mixed Signals on Robin Hood Connection
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.— The Uprising (@theuprisingmov) August 20, 2026
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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:
“Andrew Garfield stars as the legendary leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. As war burns across England, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice and survival.”
But the latest production notes, released to US press late last week, contained this updated synopsis: “Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. Set against the true events of the Uprising that helped inspire the legend of Robin Hood, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice.”
These same updated US production notes later state: “The 14th century English poem ‘Piers Plowman’ — a simple farmer’s dream about his hopes and fears — was the inspiration for the character of the Ploughman and helped the filmmaker [Paul Greengrass] settle on his approach. (Notably, the same poem gave birth to the legend of ‘Robin Hoode,’ the ultimate British outlaw myth about a common man attempting to right great injustice and coming under threat from the authorities for his actions to serve the citizenry.)”
With The Uprising just a few short weeks away from theatrical release, any such conflicting messaging about what the film’s about risks confusing or turning off potential audiences.
If The Uprising is indeed a Robin Hood film then it will arrive on the heels of the Hugh Jackman-starring The Death of Robin Hood, a box office bomb that grossed less than $7 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $20 million.