10 Iconic Characters Movies Keep Screwing Up
4. Robin Hood
No matter how popular a movie genre or franchise is, people can grow tired of it. Silent films, Flash Gordon, and Westerns dominated screens at one time, but now struggle to find an audience.
But one story that has endured longer than almost any other is Robin Hood. The British ballad is over 700 years old and yet, modern audiences are still fascinated by the heroic archer who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Because his swashbuckling adventures feel timeless, you can understand why Robin Hood has been adapted to film and television dozens of times.
And yet, the bad adaptations far outweigh the good. In fact, it's difficult to think of the last Robin Hood film that was decent. The 2018 version was a travesty. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves achieved the impossible by making the titular outlaw boring. Not even the great Ridley Scott could churn out a decent film about the legendary outlaw.
As depressing as it is to admit, the three best adaptations are The Adventures of Robin Hood (which is 84 years old), the Disney version, and the parody, Robin Hood: Men In Tights.
Although there's nothing stopping a studio from releasing a truly great retelling of Robin Hood, it hasn't happened in decades.