Universal’s Robin Hood movie is slowly getting its arrows lined up in the quiver.
The untitled production, which was at one point named Nottingham, is casting Cate Blanchett as its Maid Marian. She is in final negotiations to play the part.
Russell Crowe will portray Robin Hood, with Ridley Scott directing the film. Scott is also producing with Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer.
The Robin Hood project has evolved considerably since its inception, when in February 2007 Universal won a heated bidding war to pick up a revisionist take on the legend with a script by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris.
The script was based on the idea of making the Sheriff of Nottingham a good guy. Crowe was attached to play the sheriff who was to have acted as more of an investigator trying to learn more about the thief known as Robin Hood.
Brian Helgeland came on board to rewrite the script in mid-2007 and seemed to have never left, so even as Sienna Miller was in negotiations to play Maid Marian in June 2008, the script was still undergoing major undulations.
The project was also in preproduction at the time, though it got pushed back due to SAG concerns, budgetary issues and script issues.
Most of those issues seem to have been ironed out, with the movie, now an epic adventure focused on retelling the origins of its key characters, prepping for an April shoot in the U.K. The movie, budgeted at around $130 million, is also taking advantage of U.K.’s tax scheme and a more advantageous currency exchange.
Blanchett recently starred in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and has added her voice talents to the upcoming Wes Anderson animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Scott’s Body Of Lies was recently released on DVD and is rumored to be working on an Untitled Reagan/Gorbacheve Project.
Crow, who stared in Body Of Lies also stars in State Of Play coming to theaters April 17.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
