The Death of Robin Hood: should you stay through the credits?
As Michael Sarnoski’s gritty The Death of Robin Hood sends its battered outlaw into a final reckoning, one question hangs when the lights come up: should you stick around for a mid-, end-, or post-credits stinger?
If you’re heading out to see 'The Death of Robin Hood' – which, by the way, dropped in UK cinemas on 19 June – here’s something you’ll want to know, especially if you’ve had nightmares about missing a sneaky Marvel-style bonus scene after the credits.
Will you miss out if you leg it as soon as the credits begin?
No need to hover anxiously by the exit – or, god forbid, get shushed by the usher for staying put – because 'The Death of Robin Hood' does not have a post-credits scene. Once the actual story wraps, that’s you done. No extra teases, no cryptic sequel hints, and not a single masked stranger wandering into Sherwood right as the screen goes black.
Why skip the bonus bits?
There’s a reason you get all those tacky post-credits stingers in big franchises like Marvel: the studios want to keep the hype bubbling and hint at what’s next, or answer something left hanging in the main film (or remind you a certain superhero isn’t dead yet). But with this one, director Michael Sarnoski has gone in the opposite direction. His take on Robin Hood is a fully contained story, no dangling plot threads, no mysterious new villains lurking for a sequel. It’s not geared up as the start of a big cinematic universe – and at the moment, there isn’t even the tiniest whiff of a follow-up in development.
What’s different about The Death of Robin Hood?
For a start, the pitch is a lot darker than your usual sword-and-tights affair. Robin Hood here is an old, battered outlaw, haunted by decades of violence and bad choices. He’s basically convinced he’s dying when a stranger – a mysterious woman – turns up, offering him a shot at redemption. Forget all those cheerful tales about robbing from the rich and giving to the poor: this film is determined to question the whole Robin Hood legend.
- No post-credits scene – genuinely, you’re free to go
- This is a stand-alone film, not the start of a trilogy or a big elaborate saga
- Michael Sarnoski directs, bringing a properly grim and grounded tone to the story
- Hugh Jackman stars as Robin Hood, taking the character in a much bleaker direction than usual
What the film’s trying to say (in Jackman’s own words)
In a conversation with IndieWire, Hugh Jackman opened up about what he thinks the story is really about – and he didn’t hold back on the theoretical stuff:
'Everyone should be a bit wary of the stories they’re given. From childhood, we’re bombarded by stories from everywhere – parents, religion, the media. But before you embrace any of them, you’ve got to ask yourself if they feel right for you. Because those stories have been used to justify some pretty brutal acts in history. What if the Robin Hood legend is just that – a bit of self-mythologising, a way for one man to build a following and inspire violence, instead of just nicking coin for the poor? What if Robin Hood was never as selfless as we like to believe? And even after watching the film, you might not be any closer to knowing for sure.'