Start the week with a film: In ‘The Death of Robin Hood’, a journey from savagery to salvation

It’s the age of revision and re-imagination. In The Boys, superheroes are arrogant brutes. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is a penitent warrior. In The Death of Robin Hood (2026), the famous outlaw calls himself a “murderous brigand” who is “no hero”, a robber who killed for the joy of it.

Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) is older too, with wild white hair encasing a face troubled by his past deeds. He wanders through deserted mountains, alone with his nightmares and interrupted by the occasional revenge-seeker.

When Little John (Bill Skarsgard) demands his help in ousting usurpers from his land, Robin cannot refuse. Robin’s savage path leads him to a convent, where he meets the enigmatic nun Brigid (Jodie Comer).

The Death of Robin Hood can be rented from Prime Video. Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One) directs a period drama that is set in 1247 and loosely based on an early ballad.

Shot in gorgeous locations in Northern Ireland, the film offers a compelling take on the afterlife of a folk hero who was an early advocate of street justice and income redistribution. But the Robin Hood in Sarnoski’s film is nothing like the charming rapscallion from the books or previous movies.

Hugh Jackman plays Robin Hood like Logan’s much older cousin. Grim, haunted and brutal, this film’s Robin...

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