Among the key players set to appear in 2018’s Otto Bathurst-directed Robin Hood adaptation, Robin Hood: Origins, it’s Jamie Foxx’s casting as Little John that has most fans clamoring to see the film. After taking a bit of a break from acting after 2014’s Annie, the actor will be back in full force this year with Sleepless, Baby Driver and plenty of other movies moving forward; while promoting the former of those films, Foxx let some details slip about Origins and even talked some good-hearted smack about other Robin Hood movies in development.
The actor exclusively said the following to We Got This Covered when asked about Origins: “Those other Robin Hoods don’t mean shit. Our Robin Hood, it’s on. We’re battling, gonna drop the same day. What’s different about ours? It’s just a grittier take. With Otto [Bathurst] directing, it’s just a grittier take. It’s not like in the Sherwood Forest, tights and all that. It’s not like that. It’s grittier, a more real version, if that makes sense. But no disrespect to anyone else’s Robin Hood.”
The actor’s comments largely reinforce previous descriptions of the film, which have used similar adjectives to describe the tone. Reportedly, the film centers around a war-hardened Robin Hood who returns home to lead a revolt against the unruly English monarchy.
Foxx’s Little John will appear alongside Taron Egerton’s Robin Hood, Ben Mendelsohn’s Sheriff of Nottingham, Eve Hewson’s Maid Marian, Jamie Dornan’s Will Scarlett and Paul Anderson as a yet-to-be-revealed character.
Bathurst is set to helm the picture, with a script from Joby Harold; Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Basil Iwanyk, Tory Tunnell, and Harold will produce. Lionsgate has targeted a March 23rd, 2018 release date for Robin Hood: Origins.
