I’ve seen two A24 movies in the last few weeks, and I know more are coming as the months roll by. The studio is really busy these days, churning out movies in a unique lane like Death of Robin Hood and the recent hit Backrooms. People can’t get enough. This doesn’t mean every upcoming A24 movie hits with general audiences, though. In fact, after seeing it, I know The Death of Robin Hood is going to be polarizing because of the responses I got from fellow St. Louisans at my recent screening. I also think it’s difficult to see Robin Hood as a villain rather than a hero, and the general tone of this movie is unsettling.
Still, I think the studio should have held it for awards season. Let’s talk it out.
The Death Of Robin Hood Is Not An Easy Watch
By now, if you’ve seen The Death of Robin Hood, you know it offers fans a grim perspective on the life of an outlaw from beginning to end. Yes, I’m going to bring in some spoilers, here, so if you haven’t seen the flick yet, watch out.
In his heyday, Robin Hood may have been a man who gave back to the poor, but he killed a lot of people to get there, and he has a lot of blood debts to pay years later. This leads to many, many graphic scenes, which start at the beginning of the film when Robin Hood warns a young girl off, then kills her when she doesn’t heed that warning.
That’s some Game of Thrones-level horrifying, but it’s really the Death of Robin Hood ending that I think will turn some people off. Also the tone of this movie. Also, it’s an unrelentingly negative portrayal of life in medieval times. But mostly its ending, which involves another young girl and an assisted suicide that is shown onscreen. It is, after all, about death.
To be clear, I really liked The Death of Robin Hood. I’ll also probably never watch it again, but I’ve never seen a portrayal of the famed outlaw quite like it, and honestly I’ve never seen a movie like it, either. It’s not happy-go-lucky, but the script is well-written, and it’s fully circular in a way that stuck with me after I finished watching it. It’s complicated. There are a lot of grey areas. It’s a story about how people can be more than one thing; it’s a story about how people can change if they want to, but often don’t.
Mostly, what I took out of the movie is that I really just think Hugh Jackman is extraordinary.
A24 Should Have Held The Death Of Robin Hood For Awards Season
Almost anyone who has seen a movie in the last 20 years has probably encountered Hugh Jackman. He’s been in a boatload of Marvel films. He’s known for stage work and bringing joy to the masses with projects like The Greatest Showman. One of my fellow editors refers to him as Hollywood’s “Song and Dance Man.”
His one and only Oscar nomination was in 2012 for Les Misérables. He didn’t win, despite Anne Hathaway admitting he once broke down on set from acting so hard. We have seen him play serious and curmudgeonly again, particularly in Logan. The Death of Robin Hood is kind of like that, but Jackman’s just completely locked in on every level. He’s chewing up that scenery, particularly in the first and last scenes.
The role was hard, no-nonsense and grizzled. It required Jackman to do a lot of hair work to look as old and devastated as possible. It’s just a wig and a beard, but he’s totally lost in the role. I had to remind myself several times this was Hugh Jackman I was watching.
Look, I get it. A24 probably does not want to compete with the likes of Dune 3 and Avengers: Doomsday, an event that fans and Robert Downey Jr. have been calling Dunesday. However, it also tends to be true that movies hitting the 2026 release schedule at the end of the year have a much better chance of a successful awards campaign when the BAFTAs, SAG Awards and Oscars roll around.
This is not a rule. You don’t have to have a late-in-the-year release in order to land nominations. A24 knows this, because they experienced it during the Brennaissance, when Brendan Fraser was nominated for The Whale. The movie also came out in summer, hitting theaters in September of 2022. It’s just easier to get votes if you are a movie that is buzzy and fresh on peoples’ minds.
So, yes, Jackman could still earn a nod, but there’s a long time and a lot of releases between now (the midpoint of the year) and when we start talking about the Academy Awards. Between this and the divisive nature of the film, I’m worried the bows and arrows will be stacked against him. It’s too bad if it doesn’t happen, though, because he slaps in this.