Back in October, word broke that Sony Pictures is planning Hood, a “shared universe” take on the legendary folklore hero Robin Hood. Now it seems that Disney is gearing up for their own visit to Sherwood Forest as Deadline reports that the studio has acquired an original spec script from newcomer screenwriter Brandon Barker. Titled Nottingham & Hood, Barker’s take is likened to Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean and the outlet suggests that early plans are to similarly spin the feature into a multi-film franchise.
Disney is, of course, no stranger to the tale of Robin Hood. In 1973, Walt Disney Animation Studios released an animated feature film version of the story set in a world of anthropomorphic animals. The filmic history of the character goes back significantly further, however, nearly to the birth of cinema itself. Percy Stow’s “Robin and His Merry Men,” a 1908 silent short, is the first documented celluloid adaptation with dozens of additional versions following throughout the next century and beyond. Errol Flynn starred in Michael Curtiz’s 1938 Technicolor adaptation, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and, while his portrayal arguably remains the most famous, the likes of Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe and many more have done their best to split Flynn’s metaphorical arrow.
The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona are attached to produce Nottingham & Hood with Foster Driver and Tendo Negenda overseeing for Disney.
