Greengrass points the Bourne camera at 1381, and critics call it Robin Hood's Batman Begins

If you know Paul Greengrass for his nerve-shredding work behind the Bourne movies, you might be keen to see what happens when he points his famously unsteady camera back to the Middle Ages. His new film, The Uprising, does exactly that—only this time, the running and shouting takes place in 1381 England, amid the mud and blood of the Peasants' Revolt. It’s Greengrass both totally in his element and wildly out of his usual wheelhouse, bringing that bruising, present-tense realism to a hefty slab of British history.

The Uprising opens in US cinemas on Sept. 10, 2026, with the UK release set for Oct. 9 the same year.

The Plot & Greengrass Approach

Written and directed by Greengrass himself, The Uprising centres on a farmer played by Andrew Garfield. He’s not just toiling away in the fields—he’s grieving, furious, and eventually leading a rabble of working-class rebels in a life-or-death brawl against the sky-high taxes and generally abysmal rule of King Richard II. Forget all those stuffy, sanitised period dramas; Greengrass leans hard into the grit and violence, playing up the class resentment and rawness of it all, much like his own United 93 or Captain Phillips. The first trailer had enough dirty faces and clanging weaponry to make you forget Robin Hood ever wore a pointy hat.

Here's the blurb that Universal dropped with the trailer: "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."

Casting, Reviews & Early Reactions

So, who’s steering the rabble? Garfield’s got the main role, of course, and apparently turns in something fierce—a performance described as angry, moving, and properly physical. If you’ve seen him throw himself across a film before, you know what to expect. Alongside him is Jamie Bell as a slightly unhinged outlaw priest plucked straight from the history books, plus a sizable main cast and plenty of extras getting very muddy for the cause.

Early showings for the press have been a bit split—at first, anyway. The most recent batch of critics seem to have come round, especially praising Greengrass for shoving the action right in your face with that trademark constantly-roving camera. Several writers highlight Garfield’s ability to bring 'powerful rage' and serious layers to what could’ve been a straightforward rousing hero act. Maureen Lenker (over on Letterboxd) reckons Garfield’s 'one of the five best actors working right now' and singles out Jamie Bell as particularly strong. Another user calls The Uprising 'the Batman Begins of Robin Hood movies'—which is a big swing, let’s be honest, but you get the sense they mean it as high praise.

• Andrew Garfield as the revolutionary farmer leading the rebellion
• Jamie Bell as a zealous outlaw priest (historically accurate, apparently)
• Loads of main cast and a swamp of background extras bringing the Middle Ages to grimy life

Elsewhere online, more commenters are shouting about the 'non-stop action' and 'wildly immersive' style, with many suggesting it’s downright brutal but has something meaningful to say about power battles that’s still relevant now. Not everyone’s buying in fully—but then, this is exactly the sort of film that usually splits the crowd.

All early fuss aside, whether The Uprising actually breaks through to become a major blockbuster, or struggles to earn back that clear-to-see production budget, comes down to how many punters show up post-October. The audience gets the last word, just as it should be.