A marketing discrepancy has emerged surrounding Paul Greengrass’s historical film ‘The Uprising’, set to release in the US within two weeks. The project was initially promoted as a drama centered on the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, a historical event in England that has received limited film treatment. The movie stars Andrew Garfield as a character credited as “The Ploughman,” a reference to William Langland’s medieval poem about the period.
This week, Focus Features, the film’s US distributor, announced an expanded title on social media: “The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood.” The new marketing materials position the film as following Garfield’s character as he leads a resistance movement against the monarchy during the historical uprising. The timing of this announcement created immediate confusion, as Robin Hood legends are traditionally set during the reign of Richard the Lionheart, approximately two centuries before the 1381 events depicted in the film.
The contradiction between distributors became explicit when Entertainment Film Distributors, handling UK distribution, issued a statement asserting that the film concerns the Peasants’ Revolt exclusively and contains no Robin Hood character. The UK distributor specified that its marketing campaign makes no reference to Robin Hood and disavowed any international materials mentioning the character. This public disagreement highlights a significant promotional breakdown with two weeks remaining before the film’s US release.
The situation reflects broader concerns about audience expectations. Recent Robin Hood films have struggled commercially, with “The Death of Robin Hood” recouping less than half its production budget worldwide. Simultaneously, a historically focused drama about the Peasants’ Revolt represents a rarer film premise. The competing marketing messages risk alienating viewers regardless of which distributor’s interpretation proves accurate—audiences expecting either a Robin Hood adventure or a historical epic may leave disappointed if the film does not match their expectations.
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