Is The Uprising Secretly a Robin Hood Movie?
For most of its marketing, Andrew Garfield’s film The Uprising has seemed pretty standard—perhaps not your typical period piece, but familiar enough. We’re talking about grit, dirt, and those shaky camera angles that dramatize a historical moment that hasn’t really made it to film before: the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, or the Wat Tyler Rebellion, if you prefer.
But then, a few weeks back, the advertising took a surprising turn when some promotions mentioned the film as The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood. This caused quite a bit of confusion. Firstly, it makes it sound like a sequel to a rather recent film called The Death of Robin Hood, which, interestingly enough, was not successful—definitely not something you want to remind people about. Furthermore, while the Peasants’ Revolt is based on real events, Robin Hood is often portrayed as a legendary figure set in a much earlier period, about 180 years before the revolts. The U.K. advertising soon clarified that this was not a Robin Hood movie, while the U.S. ads quickly dropped that subtitle.
So what’s the deal with The Uprising? Is it a Robin Hood flick or not?
What Is The Uprising About?
The answer is a bit complex—probably “yes, but no.” To understand that, we should start with some context about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
The film centers around this revolt, which some call the Wat Tyler Rebellion, but Andrew Garfield isn’t actually portraying Tyler. His character is an unnamed English ploughman who has lost his family to the Black Death earlier in the century. A young King Richard II is convinced to raise taxes on the peasantry because the church and merchants demand it. Garfield’s ploughman, however, reaches a breaking point when tax collectors demand additional payments due to his lack of documentation for his family’s deaths. He snaps and assaults a collector, leading to priest John Ball and Wat Tyler stepping up to spearhead the rebellion.
The story largely follows these three as they navigate discussions with King Richard, who appears sympathetic to their grievances but is often restrained by his council. The depiction of violence is done in that intense, rapid style you might expect from Paul Greengrass—chaotic but somehow believable. Garfield, Bell, and Jarvis deliver strong performances, with Garfield especially standing out as a man transformed into a leader by his righteous anger, maintaining an emotional authenticity that lingers throughout the film.
Yet, it’s easy to forget that he isn’t based on a specific historical character. To dive deeper into whether this film connects to Robin Hood, spoilers about the film’s conclusion must be acknowledged. Consider this your warning!
Spoilers for The Uprising, now in theaters
By the end of the film, the uprising is suppressed, and the ploughman, along with some rebels who’ve evaded execution, find themselves in… the forest. Fast-forward a year, and we see the king and his mother traveling through this forest in a carriage, where they encounter a group of robbers. One of these robbers is the ploughman, now donning a green outfit and a face-covering bandana. He looks almost like… well, a version of Green Arrow! While the term Robin Hood isn’t mentioned, the image of an outlaw in green robbing from the unjustly wealthy clearly nods to the legend, suggesting that the Peasants’ Revolt has been reframed as an origin story for Robin Hood. This doesn’t seem like an afterthought to finish the film on a high note; interestingly, it was originally announced as a project titled The Hood, indicating it may have initially included more Robin Hood elements.
What’s fascinating is that many recent retellings of Robin Hood, including the notable Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe version from 2010, approach it as an origin story. Almost every modern depiction of Robin Hood, whether it’s The Adventures of Robin Hood or Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, delves into how he became the iconic character we associate with. Very few films explore the middle of his adventures, except for perhaps the Disney animated version from 1973.
So, in a sense, this muddled mix of historical fact and the classic Robin Hood narrative actually grants The Uprising some legitimacy as a Robin Hood film or at least as a modern retelling. Is it grittier and perhaps redundant in focusing on how a man becomes an outlaw? Yes, but that’s largely where it finds its footing, despite its occasional historical liberties. While the green outfit and band of outlaws might seem extraneous, this somewhat entertaining yet flawed project encapsulates the essence of Robin Hood.
