Villages and castles from 12th-century England came to life in a small town in Serbia for the filming of a new series about Robin Hood that has just wrapped in the landlocked country in southeast Europe.
The 10-episode take on England’s beloved medieval outlaw who, in lore, stole from the rich to give to the poor, comes from Lionsgate Television, and is expected to premiere on MGM+ in the US and parts of Europe later this year.
The Associated Press recently visited the set in Simanovci, the village which is home to a film studio and not far from the capital of Belgrade. Thorough research for the series was visible in the scenography and costumes, taking the cast — and the studio — back in time to the stony interiors of a candlelit castle, complete with stained-glass lancet windows.
The “sweeping, romantic adventure” offers a historically grounded look into how Robin Hood grew up to become an outlaw-turned-hero in the wake of the Norman conquest of England, the producers say.
“We actually show the beginning of Robin Hood,” producer, director and writer Jonathan English, who was a main driving force behind the project, said in an interview. “We start the story with him as a child.”
Self-described as a “huge fan of all things medieval,” English marveled at Robin Hood’s persistent global appeal.
“You can stop a pensioner on the streets of Belgrade and he knows who Robin Hood is. You can stop a teenager on the streets of Beijing, and they know who Robin Hood is,” he said.
Asked whether the story is still relevant, following countless cinematic and small-screen adaptations, English insisted that “it is incredibly relevant, probably more today than ... 50 years ago or 100 years ago, even.”
“It’s a story about class and the absolute tyranny of class, people who believe that they can have everything and control everything and can own everything and everybody else could just, you know, get lost,” he said. “There’s always been wealthy people, but now you have uber-rich people. And the divide between the uber-rich and the rest of the world is extraordinary now.”
The show’s plot centers strongly on the romance between Robin and Marian. He is a Saxon forester’s son and Marian is the daughter of a Norman lord but they overcome the divide to jointly fight for freedom and against injustice.
Australian actor Jack Patten plays Robin, joined by Lauren McQueen as Marian. The two appear alongside Sean Bean as the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham, and Connie Nielsen, who plays Eleanor of Aquitaine, the queen of England and wife of Henry II.
Patten admitted he was nervous ahead of his “third gig since getting out of drama school.” His Robin is “any young 24-year-old ... trying to find his place in the world” and who “gets dealt some pretty tricky cards.”
McQueen said Marian’s character will be “quite empowering” for young women watching the series.
Filmed in multiple locations in Serbia and with hundreds of staff and crew, the series is “huge” even by Hollywood standards, showrunner and writer John Glenn said. He described the new show as “much more Peaky Blinders in tone” than previous incarnations, referring to the hit UK TV series about gangsters in 1920s Birmingham.
Both Glenn and English said they chose Serbia because of high-standard facilities and crews but also because of the natural scenery that could mimic a medieval English landscape.
“It’s hard to find ancient forests now in England,” English said. “There’s not a lot of undeveloped wilderness.”
