The story of “Robin Hood” has been retold so many times it’s practically its own genre. From Errol Flynn’s daring swashbuckler to Kevin Costner’s 1991 blockbuster, from Russell Crowe’s gritty realism to Taron Egerton’s slick modern spin, every generation seems to find a reason to bring the outlaw back to life. But the new Lionsgate Television series “Robin Hood” takes the familiar myth and rebuilds it piece by piece, revealing the dirt beneath the folklore and the people who made it endure.
Created by John Glenn and directed by Jonathan English, the ten-episode series unfolds in the aftermath of the Norman invasion of England. Jack Patten leads the ensemble as Rob, a Saxon forester’s son not yet known by his legendary name. Lauren McQueen plays Marian, the daughter of a Norman lord whose conscience pulls her between two worlds. They are joined by Lydia Peckham as Priscilla of Nottingham, Sean Bean as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Connie Nielsen as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Together, they reimagine a story about power, faith, and resistance, giving one of history’s most enduring legends a modern heartbeat.
Speaking with Awards Focus, Patten reflected on the challenge of portraying Rob not as an icon but as a man still finding his way. “This is really an origin story, not just for Rob but for everyone,” he said. “You see him at his most vulnerable. He’s not a superhero from the start. He’s a regular guy going through difficult times, and that adds a psychological element that makes it special.”
Patten made a deliberate choice to avoid past versions of the role. “I hadn’t seen any of the other ‘Robin Hood’ films,” he admitted. “When I got to Serbia, I asked Jonathan if I should study them, and we both agreed it would be better to go down a more personal route. It became quite personal, actually. It was my first big role, and Rob’s on a massive journey of his own, so a lot of it lined up.”
The production’s realism helped. Filmed in rugged forests and open fields, the show demanded a physical and emotional commitment from its cast. “Rob’s outdoors ninety percent of the time,” Patten said. “We had some pretty intense mosquito days, but it all added to the immersion. You just had to toughen up.” Asked about his archery skills after the months of training, he grinned. “On a good day, I’d say I’m about an eight out of ten.”
As the titular character, Patten’s portrayal hits the mark with his evolution less rushed then previous cinematic versions. The audience doesn’t hear the name “Robin Hood,” or see the green cloak and effortless archery, until the midpoint of the season. That restraint makes his eventual emergence feel grounded, almost earned through experience rather than destiny.
For veteran actors Connie Nielsen and Sean Bean, the series provided a chance to approach historical storytelling with more scope and nuance than the typical film format allows. “The writer and the director made the commitment to actually bring in a lot of real historical detail,” Nielsen said. “And now we have the opportunity to tell stories in ten episodes with cinematic quality. It feels like a no-brainer to explore the wider backdrop against which this story really figured.”
As Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, Nielsen brings both strength and curiosity to one of history’s most powerful and complex women. “I went about researching which biographies to build her on,” she explained. “The ways in which those biographies are written and by whom is really important to me. I chose several and found one that stood out because it showed her through specific historical evidence. She was a complex character, a woman who had twelve children, who lived to eighty-two, who was first the Queen of France and then the Queen of England. She had been in power since she was thirteen and worked for her family and her community until the day she died.”
That sense of depth and longevity informs every scene Nielsen inhabits. Her Eleanor is far more than a decorative monarch. She is a strategist and an early example of female leadership in a world dominated by men.
Bean, meanwhile, brings layered humanity to the Sheriff of Nottingham, a character often flattened into pure villainy. “It’s such a luxury to have ten hours of drama instead of two,” he said. “You can really bring a whole community to life. The directors and writers did a fantastic job of building that world. It felt epic, and the sets were incredible. It wasn’t hard to drop in and believe we were those people.”
That same patience extends to the women of “Robin Hood,” whose presence reshapes the story entirely. In this version, Marian and Priscilla are not passive figures on the sidelines. They are thinking, feeling agents of change as they navigate the constraints of their time while finding their voices. McQueen described Marian’s arc as one that finally brings balance to the story. “She’s not just Rob’s love interest in this adaptation,” she said. “She has her own story, her own ambitions, and a real inner strength. It feels modern in the best way because she finally finds her own voice and power. She really looks up to Eleanor as this independent, powerful woman.”
Peckham built on that idea, connecting Priscilla’s character to a sense of female solidarity rarely explored in earlier versions. “Priscilla is such a modern woman living in the twelfth century,” she said. “Her relationship with Marian feels so familiar as a female and as having that community within your friendships. You see women in the show starting to be trailblazers, beginning with Eleanor.”
Together, Nielsen, McQueen, and Peckham form the spine of the series’ evolving perspective. Their characters represent a lineage of women at different stages of power and self-discovery, each influencing the next. The contrast between Eleanor’s mastery of politics, Marian’s awakening, and Priscilla’s quiet defiance adds a new dimension to a story long defined by men. “Women in the show start to become trailblazers,” Peckham said. “That begins with Eleanor, but it carries through all of them.”
Listening to the cast, what emerges is a shared pride in how fully realized these characters have become. Patten, Nielsen, Bean, McQueen, and Peckham all described the same feeling of stepping into roles that were richer and more dimensional than the archetypes they grew up watching. That attention to authenticity carries through every frame of “Robin Hood,” promising a version of the legend that should resonate with both loyal fans and newcomers alike.
“Robin Hood” premieres November 2, 2025, on MGM+, offering a version of the classic story that finally feels alive with history, emotion, and meaning.