Andrew Garfield, Paul Greengrass talk The Uprising
In a new Deadline interview, Paul Greengrass and Andrew Garfield unpack The Uprising, a Focus Features epic about England's 1381 Peasants' Revolt. Garfield plays a grieving farmer who sparks rebellion; Greengrass frames it as a hero's journey tied to Robin Hood lore, with U.S. theaters opening September 10, 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Greengrass wrote The Uprising during COVID lockdown as a historical epic about the Peasants' Revolt.
- Garfield stars as Ploughman, a farmer who lost his family to the plague and ignites a nationwide uprising.
- The film links the crushed revolt to outlaw tales that helped inspire the Robin Hood legend.
- Early reactions praise non-stop action and Garfield's performance ahead of the September 10, 2026 U.S. release.
- Garfield says the story deconstructs a "bastardized form of Christianity" used to hoard power.
The Oscar-nominated writer-director dug into a feudal era when teenage King Richard II's counsel pushed higher taxes on peasant farmers. When the tax collector arrives, Ploughman hits his limit and lashes out, suddenly inciting a countrywide uprising. The cast includes Cosmo Jarvis as Wat Tyler, Jamie Bell as John Ball, Thomasin McKenzie as Alyce, and Woody Norman as King Richard II. For more celebrity breaking news, follow BlasterPost's entertainment desk.
Why did Greengrass and Garfield take on The Uprising?
Greengrass told Deadline the light-bulb moment came in the year or two before COVID, then crystallized on lockdown's second day when he sat down to write a movie about the Peasants' Revolt. He wanted a big historical epic in the vein of Spartacus, Braveheart, and Gladiator, built around an ordinary farmer's hero's journey rather than a documentary history lesson.
Garfield said he emailed Greengrass as soon as he read the script and asked to be considered. He called the story an antidote to feeling disenfranchised, describing daily "repeat enragement" over a lack of accountability and seeing the film as a place to put that energy. He had also longed to work with Greengrass for a long time.
How does The Uprising connect to Robin Hood?
Greengrass explained that Robin Hood ballads postdate the Peasants' Revolt and grew popular because stories of an outlaw who stood up against power kept hope alive when people felt powerless. His first draft was even titled The Hood. After betrayal, Ploughman's arc marches toward the forest outlaw myth rather than ending with the revolt simply crushed.
Production shot in Bavaria and Germany, including an ancient Nuremberg church. Garfield worked with historian consultant Dan Jones, author of Summer of Blood, on village life details. Focus Features opens the film in the United States on September 10, 2026, with Jason Blum among the producers; the U.K. release follows October 9, 2026.
What are early reactions and the faith angle?
According to MovieWeb, early press reactions were mixed before swinging more positive, with viewers praising Greengrass's handheld combat intensity and Garfield's "powerful rage." One Letterboxd viewer called it "the Batman Begins of Robin Hood movies," while others flagged non-stop, brutal action with a topical message.
Speaking to The Christian Post, Garfield said Ploughman undergoes "a kind of dismantling of a bastardized form of Christianity" that oppressed his people. He argued Christianity in the story has been "hijacked" by those who want to hoard power, money, influence, and status—a deconstruction unfolding as the character questions authority cast as God's mouthpiece.