John Glenn, the Executive Producer, and Jonathan English, the Director, of the new series Robin Hood on MGM, sat down to discuss their motivations for creating the Robin Hood series and why it deserved a modern interpretation.
LISTEN NOW: 'Robin Hood' creators with Romeo International
The cast includes Connie Nielson, Sean Bean, Lauren McQueen, and Jack Patten as Robin Hood. Robin Hood infuses the classic tale of the roguish outlaw hero who stole from the wealthy and gave to the underprivileged with a contemporary energy. It also presents an epic love story between Robin Hood and a courageous and daring Marian. This smart, sweeping, romantic adventure brings historical authenticity, psychological depth, and a heightened focus on the relationship between Robin and Marian to the beloved story.
Romeo International: When you guys translate this from paper to screen to thought, what initial vision did he have?
John Glenn: A lot of it is what you're talking about, is how to humanize, how to humanize that story, how to make it personal, you know? And for us, and again, not throwing back in further than just starting with, Robin Hood is Robin Hood. Like, who was he? Or doing it with the Sheriff in the same way. Trying to sort of make them human and grounded so that you get to know them, and then I think both of us, it helps you kind of pulls you along because you feel bonded to them. What you felt is really encouraging to us because that was the idea.
Romeo International: As creators, is it a daunting task to navigate the delicate balance between reality and storytelling when they intersect in unexpected ways?
Jonathan English: We went trying to do that, the more we kind of dug into the true story of Robin Hood parallels with today. They've always been there. You know, ultimately there's always been this thing of class. It's being classed as being there in civilization. Sadly, from the beginning. You know, it's very, very seldom of their periods where there's, you know, talent. Right? You know, where there's planning, you know, in a way. Robin Hood is a kind of Batman of his period. He fights for the common man. He's an Avenger, he's a vigilante, he's a rebel. He's a Mujahideen fighter. I mean, he thought of those things, you know? His myth persists, you know? Because he sort of represents, yeah, I mean, it's amazing how all over the world people have heard of Robin Hood.
Robin Hood now streaming on MGM+ Original Series