'More Intense Than You're Expecting.' I Needed To Be Sold On Hugh Jackman In Robin Hood, Until The Director Started Dropping Comments About His 'Musclebound Physique'

Wolverine shirtless in Deadpool 3
(Image credit: Marvel)

Actor Hugh Jackman has had a long and wildly successful career, on both the stage and screen. Some of the best Jackman movies have also showed off his ripped physique, including Deadpool & Wolverine (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription). I wasn't all that invested in his upcoming A24 movie The Death of Robin Hood... until director Michael Sarnoski spoke about his "intense" performance and the way his "musclebound" body will be on display when its released sometime next year.

While fans are curious about if/when Jackman will return as Wolverine in upcoming Marvel movies, he's been keeping busy with a variety of other projects. In addition to his upcoming musical biopic Song Sung Blue that'll hit theaters on Christmas, he's also playing the title role in The Death of Robin Hood. Sarnoski spoke to EW about what the movie is about, saying:

He was this murderous outlaw who did a lot of terrible things, and was kind of monstrous. But he's lived long enough to see this folklore get created about him. He's figuring out how he feels about that, about being portrayed as a hero when he knows what he really was.

I'm not going to lie, this does sound somewhat similar to what went down in Logan. Jackman played a jaded and older former X-Man, who was living in regret and trapped in the past. It should be interesting to see what goes down in The Death of Robin Hood, and if these similarities will be seen by moviegoing audiences. Hopefully his fate isn't as sad as the Logan ending.

Later in the same interview, Michael Sarnoski addressed Jackman's bearded and grizzled look for the forthcoming thriller. It seems like he won't be too covered up throughout the movie, saying:

You will be seeing some [of Hugh's] musclebound physique. It's probably more intense than you're expecting.

While not an action movie per say, I'm super curious about how fight sequences and Jackman's ripped body will ultimately factor into the movie's story. He's known for putting it all into fight sequences, especially throughout the X-Men movies. As such, I'm suddenly way more invested in what his Robin Hood flick will entail.

The Greatest Showman star had a shirtless sequence in Deadpool & Wolverine, showing that he's still got it at age 57. It sounds like his fat-free body will once again be on display as he plays Robin of Loxley. Sex sells, and I assume I'm not the only one paying attention after the director's comments.

The Death of Robin Hood doesn't currently have an official release date, although it's expected to arrive sometime next year as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully we get a trailer and more information about that A24 project sooner rather than later.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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