Robin Hood Will Be A Gen Z Woman Now
To fit the times, Robin Hood will be transformed into Robyn Hood, a young Gen Z female.
This article is more than 2 years old
The world has no shortage of Robin Hood adaptations. The iconic outlaw story has been shared since the 13th century, with countless retellings through plays, novels, film, and TV. In modern times, the charming thief has been given some interesting retellings. From foxes and bears to classic retellings featuring prominent actors like Sean Connery and Kevin Costner, Robin Hood is constantly reimagined to better fit the times. After the last rendition of the famed caper was largely dubbed a flop, news recently broke regarding the next interpretation of everyone’s favorite thief. To fit the times, Robin Hood will be transformed into Robyn Hood, a young Gen Z female.
As reported on January 31st, Robin Hood will be reimagined as a modern-day hip-hop series helmed by Julien Christian Lutz, best known by his professional name, Director X. The Canadian director is best known for his prolific work directing music videos such as “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child, “Work” by Rihanna, “Thong Song” by Sisqó, “Yeah” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, and “Hotline Bling” by Drake. As for the film, Director X is best known for the 2018 remake Superfly.
Upon breaking the news, Director X detailed the upcoming project. Set to be an eight-episode action-drama series, Robin Hood will be reimagined as a young Gen Z woman as the titular hero. As Robyn Loxley, the plot centers around the vigilante who is a member of a masked hip-hop band perfectly named The Hood. From the Sherwood Towers neighborhood, Robyn is set to take a stand in a quest for justice holding corrupt people in power accountable. Director X will share showrunner duties alongside Chris Roberts, the man behind Orphan Black.
While it can be argued that wealth inequality has always been prevalent around the world, Director X explained his sentiments for the world needing a fresh new telling of the legendary hero. “This is the perfect time to modernize Robin Hood,” Director X said Thursday in a press release. “We are currently living in the gilded age 2.0, where billionaires have way too much and the poor have far too little. We need someone to fight for justice.”
Still in the early stages of planning, no cast announcements have been made yet for the upcoming series. However, we do know that the new Robin Hood will be brought by Boat Rocker Studios and filming will be shot in both Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. The show is slated to debut on Canada’s global television network sometime in 2023.
Throughout the myriad of Robin Hood adaptations, the last century or so has seen plenty of distinctive interpretations of the thief of Sherwood Forest. Some of the most classic adaptations were told through the 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. Disney even took their turn to reimagine Robin as a Fox in the 1973 animated film. The latest rendition of Sherwood in 2018 was heavily coined a flop, despite touting an all-star lineup featuring Jamie Foxx. And there are plenty of oddballs tellings of the lore as well. The popular sci-fi series Star Trek once created a Robin Hood parody episode that featured the beloved crew of the USS Enterprise trapped in a holodeck retelling of the story. But quite possibly the most eccentric and pertinent retelling to the upcoming rendition was seen in the Mel Brooks 1993 hit parody Men In Tights.
The new Robin Hood is sure to ruffle feathers not only for recasting Robin of Loxley as a female but also for climatically modernizing the beloved character in a hip-hop manner. Given the man behind the upcoming project, viewers should expect plenty of heavy-hitting beats, and even quite possibly some famous musicians lending a hand. Maybe Rihanna can make her musical-comeback debut in the upcoming series. While we wait for more news on the project to be released, the bizarre series is definitely something to watch for.
