No, not Robin Hood — Andrew Garfield’s war movie mystery deepens

Here we go—another film marketing mess that makes you wonder if anyone at the studios actually talks to each other. This time, it’s The Uprising, the new medieval epic with Andrew Garfield front and centre, and the problem… well, let’s just say it involves Robin Hood, but also very much doesn’t. Let’s unpack it, because it’s bizarre even by movie promo standards.

Who’s Making What?

To start with the basics: The Uprising is a historical war film set during the English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Paul Greengrass—yes, the director who brought us the Bourne films and Captain Phillips—writes and directs. Garfield plays the ringleader stirring up rebellion against King Richard II, with a cast that includes Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, and Katherine Waterston. Heavy hitters all round. The producer line-up’s notable as well: Jason Blum (the Blumhouse man), Greengrass himself, Gregory Goodman, Joanna Kaye, Joe Neurauter, and Lars Sylvest.

The Uprising reaches cinemas across the globe on 10 September 2026.

So far, so straightforward, right?

The Robin Hood Blunder

Here’s where things slide off the rails. In the US, distributor Focus Features put out a flashy new teaser on X (Twitter, if you’re old-fashioned), showing Garfield with a tagline: “Witness the rise of Robin Hood in THE UPRISING.” Naturally, this set off alarm bells in the UK, where the entire marketing push has positioned The Uprising strictly as a drama about the Peasants’ Revolt—not Robin Hood, not even a wink or a nudge. The film’s always been described as inspired by the events that would eventually feed the Robin Hood myth, but that’s not the same as actually being about the man in green tights.

The confusion got so daft that the UK distributor, Entertainment Film Distributors, took the unusual step of issuing an official message to reassure everyone in Britain that they’re not suddenly flogging a Robin Hood reboot. Here’s how they put it, as reported by GamesRadar+:

'The Uprising is a historical epic about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, not Robin Hood. The UK marketing campaign does not make any reference to Robin Hood.'

And they were at pains to point out that any mention of Robin Hood cropping up on social media in the UK is not their doing—those are overseas promos leaking across the internet, not approved by British distributors.

So, What’s The Film Actually About?

• Paul Greengrass behind the camera and co-writing—expect his trademark style (handheld carnage, historical edge).
• Garfield stars as the leader of the uprising against King Richard II, building an army of ordinary folk fighting for justice.
• The cast is stacked: Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, Katherine Waterston.
• It draws from the Peasants’ Revolt—the notorious rebellion—but the connection to Robin Hood is purely thematic, not literal.

The bottom line: whatever marketing you see floating around about Robin Hood, especially if it’s got a stars-and-stripes flavour, is the US having a bit of creative license. In Britain, at least, The Uprising remains a take on real historical revolt, not a Sherwood Forest retread.