# Why do they keep remaking Robin Hood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018 "2010-05-19T16:54:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/1 "2010-05-19T16:54:01Z")
What with the Errol Flynn version, Sean Connery, Men in Tights, Disney, Kevin Cosner and now the Robinator with Crowe. And this is not even counting the two television series. It just strikes me it has been done to death. Do we really need it made so many times? Especially when you consider it has the same basic plot each time (well, possibly not Robin and Marion). ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/2 "2010-05-19T16:55:28Z")
For the same reason there are lots of sequels - they go with what they know sells tickets. Less risk than a totally new idea. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/3 "2010-05-19T17:00:08Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > For the same reason there are lots of sequels - they go with what they know sells tickets. Less risk than a totally new idea. And, as I found out last weekend, the Crowe offering is really more of a prequel. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/4 "2010-05-19T17:20:38Z")
It’s an “origin story” – how Robin became “Robin Hood,” an outlaw. I actually am interested in this, and in how the various legends (Piers Plowman, etc.) tie in, but from what I’ve heard, the new movie just is not any _fun_. If they’re enjoyable to watch, they can keep making all they want to. If they’re not, I agree: Why do they keep making them? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/5 "2010-05-19T17:26:15Z")
Because a lot of people have never seen the earlier ones? I saw Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves when I was ten years old and it’s still one of my favorite movies of all time to this day. I’m a big believer in the idea that every generation should get to retell a story in their way. The multiple Robin Hood movies prove that. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/6 "2010-05-19T17:38:30Z")
There have been a huge number of movie versions of _Alice in Wonderland_. One of the _Book of Lists_ ranked it highly on a list of most movie versions, and that was a long time ago. The Tim Burton version has made $330M domestic and counting. Which will “inspire” a new round of sequels, prequels, new “interpretations”, etc. Almost all of which will be bad and will cause people to ask why they were made. But no one asks why Tim Burton needed to make his version. Studios love tried-and-true public domain stories that the audiences are already somewhat familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/7 "2010-05-19T17:48:16Z")
Good stories often get redone. Of course, some not so good ones do too Let’s see. How many versions have been made of: \*Frankenstein Dracula Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Phantom of the Opera Alice in Wonderland Hamlet Romeo & Juliet Henry V Richard III Little Women Mutiny on the Bounty \* ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/8 "2010-05-19T17:52:33Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > …Studios love tried-and-true public domain stories that the audiences are already somewhat familiar with. This. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/9 "2010-05-19T17:54:04Z")
Wait, Hollywood, like everyone else, insists on making new version of old classics? They want to tell the incredible storis which define our culture and have for centuries? OH MY GOD! PASS A LAW! CAENOT BE ALowed! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/10 "2010-05-19T17:58:24Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Good stories often get redone. Of course, some not so good ones do too > > Let’s see. How many versions have been made of: > > \*Frankenstein > Dracula > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde > Phantom of the Opera > Alice in Wonderland > Hamlet > Romeo & Juliet > Henry V > Richard III > Little Women > Mutiny on the Bounty > \* Not to mention _The Wizard of Oz_, which had both a 1925 and 1939 version, then _The Wiz_ and an odd reference in _Zardoz_. I just read that Drew Barrymore is planning to direct a new version (called _Surrender Dorothy_)as a sequel to the 1939 version and that: > [@](#): > > At least five films based on the Wizard of Oz have been reported in recent weeks. Disney, which made Alice in Wonderland, is developing Oz the Great and Powerful, an origins tale revealing how L Frank Baum’s wonderful wizard ended up at the Emerald City (and possibly featuring Sam Mendes directing Robert Downey Jr as the wizard). There are also two CGI versions, as well as another based on a comic-book series, and finally the bizarre-looking The Witches of Oz, featuring Lord of the Rings’ Sean Astin, Christopher Lloyd (as the wizard) and Alien’s Lance Henriksen. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/11 "2010-05-19T18:12:48Z")
Superman and Batman as well. There have been at least 3 versions of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds I can think of, not counting films like Independence Day which is essentially the same thing (From the moment the invaders arrived hacked into our satellites and forgot to install appropriate firewall protection, they were doomed. They were undone, destroyed, after all of man’s weapons had failed, by the tiniest device (at the time) that Steve Jobs in his wisdom put upon this earth. By the toll of a billion crashed PCs, man had earned his connectivity, his right to dial-in to this planet’s infinite wireless internet. ) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/12 "2010-05-19T18:56:59Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Wait, Hollywood, like everyone else, insists on making new version of old classics? They want to tell the incredible storis which define our culture and have for centuries? > > OH MY GOD! PASS A LAW! CAENOT BE ALowed! It’s a liberal conspiracy to prevent the withered hands of Dead White Men from dragging us back into the dark past. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/13 "2010-05-19T19:49:44Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > What with the Errol Flynn version, Sean Connery, Men in Tights, Disney, Kevin Cosner and now the Robinator with Crowe. And this is not even counting the two television series. Two? I count at least 5 TV series: _The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-60), Robin Hood (2006-9), Maid Marion and Her Merry Men (1989-94), Robin of Sherwood (1984-86), and When Things Were Rotten (1975)_ You also left out the Loony Tunes version, with Donald Duck as Robin and Porky Pig as Friar Tuck. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/14 "2010-05-19T20:05:09Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You also left out the Loony Tunes version, with Donald Duck as Robin and Porky Pig as Friar Tuck. 😃 I think you mean Daffy: “Yoikes, and awaaaay!” _thud_ “Yoikes, and awaaaay…” _thud_ “Yoiikkeess, and awaaaaaa…” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/15 "2010-05-19T20:05:55Z")
Only they’re not really remaking the same story. There’s not a heckuva lot to the story of Robin Hood – everyone remembers few basic stories and characters – The Bad Guys Sheriff of Nottingham and King John, Little John and the fight at the bridge. Friar Tuck. Will Scarlet/Scarlock. Maid Marian. The Archery contest. The Band of Merry Men. Then they kinda string them together. The movies then add some sort of twist – Robin Hood played with Animals (Disney). Robin Hood when he’s old (Sean Connery), robin Hood played for Laughs (Cary Elwes/Mel Brooks – which still has the best line – “Because unlike _other_ Robin Hoods, _I_ speak with a British accent.”), Robin Hood when he first becomes the Dark Knight (Crowe). (One thing I’ll give the Kevin Costner version – at least they found something original to do will Will Scarlett. Usually all he does is hang around dressed in red.) I’ve never really felt happy with any of these. One of these days I have to watch the Errol Flynn version and see if i like it any better. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/16 "2010-05-19T20:12:36Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I think you mean Daffy: > > “Yoikes, and awaaaay!” _thud_ > > “Yoikes, and awaaaay…” _thud_ > > “Yoiikkeess, and awaaaaaa…” :smack: Shouldn’t be talking on the phone and posting at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/17 "2010-05-19T20:50:18Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I think you mean Daffy: > > “Yoikes, and awaaaay!” _thud_ > > “Yoikes, and awaaaay…” _thud_ > > “Yoiikkeess, and awaaaaaa…” There was also the Disney cartoon version from 73 where Robin and Maryanne were foxes and Little John looked like the bear from The Jungle Book. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/18 "2010-05-19T20:56:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And, as I found out last weekend, the Crowe offering is really more of a prequel. As such, it reminds me of the _King Arthur_ movie from a few years ago, with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley. I haven’t seen _Robin Hood_ yet, but the trailers do remind me quite a bit of _King Arthur_…a movie which I liked, but which didn’t do that well in general. That said, I may not see _Robin Hood_, just because I really have no use for Russell Crowe. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/19 "2010-05-19T21:16:23Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I think you mean Daffy: > > “Yoikes, and awaaaay!” _thud_ > > “Yoikes, and awaaaay…” _thud_ > > “Yoiikkeess, and awaaaaaa…” One of the funniest cartoon scenes ever. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018/20 "2010-05-19T21:24:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve never really felt happy with any of these. One of these days I have to watch the Errol Flynn version and see if i like it any better. Yes, do. The Errol Flynn version (although slightly dated in some ways) is the reason you don’t like any of the others: it’s definitive, and the others are pretty much all derivative. And it’s made WITHOUT CGI, it’s all live action with Flynn doing many of his own stunts. Plus Claude Rains as Prince John and Basil Rathbone as the other baddie, it just doesn’t get better than this. And directed by Michael Curtiz, great action director (CASABLANCA, too). It is early technicolor, so a little garish for modern tastes. But wonderful fun! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-keep-remaking-robin-hood/540018.md?page=2)