When legendary director Ridley Scott set out to bring Robin Hood to the big screen, he had one very specific goal: keep it real. In a recent interview with MTV, Scott explained how his interpretation of the famous character is different than the 22 Robin Hood films that have come before it, and why he believes that Robin Hood was a real person.

In the interview, which you can watch below, Scott says,

"I wanted to go real, because I feel he really existed. The ones to date have always treated Robin Hood like a myth, part of a fairy story. I always figured that there was so much written about Robin that he definitely existed."

Scott further explained why he believed Robin Hood really existed off camera.

"There's no smoke without fire. Robin of Locksley, Robin of Sherwood, Robin Hood or his other generic name, the Green Man — there are pubs across England called the Green Man. We believe that this is probably a link to Robin Hood. There must be something."

Although I'm not entirely in agreement with Scott that Robin Hood was an actual person and not simply an amalgam of individuals cobbled together over time through story telling and literature, I admire his passion and I think that his approach is a great way to bring something original to the character (especially when that character is played by a hard-charging ax-wielding mad man like Russell Crowe).

Speaking of Russell Crowe, Collider recently shared a huge batch of new images from Robin Hood including some choice shots of Crowe in full battle mode. While you'll have to head over to Collider to see all 54 images, I've shared some of my favorite action photos below. Click on the images for high-res versions.

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Russell Crowe Robin Hood 1

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Russell Crowe Robin Hood 2

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Russell Crowe Robin Hood 3

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Russell Crowe Robin Hood 4

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Russell Crowe Robin Hood 5

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Russell Crowe Robin Hood 6

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From the film's images, trailers, and clips, many people have gotten the impression that Robin Hood will just be a medieval version of Gladiator, which, if you didn't already know, was also directed by Scott and starred Russell Crowe. While I don't disagree that this could be the case, considering how much I love Gladiator, I actually think that sounds like a pretty good thing. Does anyone else agree?

What do you think of Ridley Scott's comments and the new images? Are you planning to see Robin Hood opening weekend?

Robin Hood will hold its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The film opens in the United States on May 14th, 2010.

Source: MTV and Collider