Kingsman Star Teases 'Dark & Funny' Robin Hood

Kingsman: The Golden Circle star, Taron Egerton, teases that next year's Robin Hood will provide audiences with a "very dark" and "very funny" take on the iconic character. Despite there being multiple cinematic iterations of the character that have already been released throughout history, Hollywood is preparing to bring the story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men back to life on the big screen again next year. That doesn't come as much of a surprise, though, since like with King Arthur, Peter Pan, and Beauty and the Beast, the Robin Hood story has proven itself to be one of the more timeless and well-known in contemporary pop culture.

As such, that means there will more likely than not, always be a new Robin Hood movie coming out every few years. But for what it's worth, Robin Hood has managed to assemble an exciting creative team for itself, including Taron Egerton as Robin Hood himself. And in addition to the Kingsman breakout actor, the film will also star Ben Mendelsohn as the villainous Sherriff of Nottingham, Jamie Foxx as Little John, Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck, Eve Hewson as Maid Marian, and Jamie Dornan as Will Scarlet.

Related: Margot Robbie Developing Maid Marian Movie

While Robin Hood finished filming earlier this year - after spending several months on location in Dubrovnik - very little is known still about the film's specific take on the character. During an interview with Comic Book, Egerton took a moment to briefly tease the film's tone and talented cast, along with how his version of Robin Hood will evolve throughout the course of the film:

"My Robin Hood, as with Kevin Costner's, he's a soldier. We find him out in Syria. I don't think that's too much to say. He's flawed, my Robin Hood. He's a little self-involved and a little self-serving but over the course of the film becomes the hero of the legend. I suspect I'm probably one of the younger Robin Hoods but it's very dark. Gritty. I'm hoping that it will be very funny. Jamie Foxx is Little John. Ben Mendelsohn is the Sheriff of Nottingham. Tim Minchin is Friar Tuck. We've got some people with real, not only incredible acting skills, but also great comic chops, as well. It should have a bit of everything."

At this point, it's becoming increasingly harder for Robin Hood movies to stand out from their predecessors in any real, notable way, which just makes this particular film's job even more complicated. Not only will it have to be a satisfying and high-quality film, but it'll also have to be unique enough for audiences to leave it feeling like its existence was at all justified. Fortunately, it looks like Robin Hood will be taking visual cues from John Wick, and with a talented TV director like Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror) at the helm, it has the potential to be one of the better takes on the Robin Hood story that's come along in recent memory.

On the flip side, Guy Ritchie's unexpectedly zany take on King Arthur was not received well at the box office or by critics earlier this year, which does call into question how much interest audiences will have in seeing another Robin Hood movie - no matter how original or different it may appear to be. It's difficult to know for sure this far out from the film's September 2018 release date, but it's entirely possible that Robin Hood will have a much harder time making an impact amongst audiences than Lionsgate may have originally thought. So depending on how positive word of mouth is and how well-received the trailers are, Robin Hood stands right now, as being one of the next year's biggest wildcards.