Michael Sarnoski on Redemption and Medieval Bandit Life in The Death of Robin Hood
The writer-director talks about working with Hugh Jackman and shares updates on his upcoming video game adaptation Death Stranding.
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Get ready to lose another childhood hero. Or, at least, see him in a more nuanced light. The legend of Robin Hood, the thief whose band of merry men stole from the rich and gave to the needy, is getting a rewrite, this time from writer-director Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One). And in his new film The Death of Robin Hood, the man is far from a hero. Instead, as Sarnoski tells Seen on the Screen host Jacqueline Coley, this Robin Hood is “a flawed human being.”
Though partly inspired by Disney’s 1973 Robin Hood— the animated film that boldly asked the question, “What if a cartoon fox was hot?”— Sarnoski tells Coley that The Death of Robin Hood is more of an amalgamation of Robin Hood tales. “I remember reading ‘Robin Hood’s Death,’ the old ballad, and being like, ‘Oh, that’s not a dancing fox,’” he recalls. “I think I spent a long time trying to figure out how a dancing fox can also sort of die quietly, and then that became this script.”
So, no,The Death of Robin Hood doesn’t feature any dancing foxes. Instead, it focuses on an old and beaten-down Robin Hood, played by Hugh Jackman, and his potential final act of redemption. Despite Jackman’s musical talents, his Robin Hood doesn’t sing or dance, but he does fight — violently. “It was a really brutal time,” Sarnoski tells Coley, adding that he wanted the film to ask the question, “What would the life of a medieval bandit have been like?”
The answer, he found, was unforgiving and full of “pretty disturbing, pretty unpleasant” violence, which — slight spoiler alert — features heavily in the beginning of the film. “It’s not fun, dancey violence,” the director warns. And that’s by design. “For the rest of the movie, Robin is grappling with that violence,” Sarnoski explains.
To hear more about Sarnoski’s The Death of Robin Hood, check out the full Seen on the Screen podcast episode above, in which the director also talks about his feature debut Pig, explains why his movies tend to have minimal dialogue, and teases his next film, the highly anticipated video game adaptation Death Stranding.
The Death of Robin Hood also stars Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgard, Murray Bartlett, and Noah Jupe. It hits theaters June 19. Buy tickets now on Fandango.
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Seen on the Screen is a Universal Entertainment and Fandango podcast series hosted by Jacqueline Coley, Awards Editor at Rotten Tomatoes.
Claim your ticket to witness the personal narratives happening behind the scenes of film and entertainment! Each episode invites you into intimate conversations with filmmakers, actors, and industry insiders. Blending sharp cinematic trivia with thoughtfully crafted interview questions, Jacqueline leads each guest through a rich, reflective journey into their lifelong relationship with entertainment. From the formative movie‑going experiences that shaped their artistic worldview to their career‑defining moves — asking them to reflect on the films that have rocked their world, scared the daylights out of them, and changed them forever.
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