It looks like actor Mark Strong was correct when he told The Telegraph that Cate Blanchett is going to play Maid Marian in director Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood at Universal Pictures.
She joins Russell Crowe in the drama expected to start production in early April.
Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Scott and his Scott Free production company.
The drama, originally scripted by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris and then rewritten by Brian Helgeland, has evolved into a Gladiator version of the Robin Hood legend, says Variety. Crowe starred in that film and Scott directed it.
The film will be shot at a $130 million budget, benefiting from favorable exchange rates and tax credits that come from shooting in the U.K. Scott will be aiming for a PG-13 rating.
Crowe plays Robin of Loxley in an origin story of Robin Hood that hews close to historical facts of the period. Abandoned as a child, he finds community with the common people of Nottingham. Robin’s abandonment and trust issues hamper his ability to fall in love. He meets his match in Marian, a strong, independent woman.
