Hot on the heels of the rather wild rumor that Christian Bale might be playing Robin Hood in Ridley Scott’s twisted Nottingham movie comes another. This time the source is the Latino Review, and they claim that a guy named Sam Riley is in contention for the role.
More specifically, they say Russell Crowe wants him for the part. Crowe is playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in the film, and apparently he saw Sam in a little seen movie called Control and loved him. I haven’t seen Control, but Riley does bear a strange, hollow-eyed resemblance to Errol Flynn, and Errol Flynn is still the only decent non-animated Robin Hood we’ve ever had on screen. Maybe this Sam fellow would look good in green tights.
Should Riley end up with the part, he won’t be playing Robin Hood as we traditionally imagine him. Ridley Scott’s Nottingham tells the classic Robin Hood tale from a flipped perspective, casting the Sheriff as the good guy and Robin Hood as a no good criminal who probably needs to be locked up for pimping out Maid Marian.
