The best part, in our opinion? Cate Blanchett, who will be playing the role of a widowed, warrior Lady Marion, a departure from passive, foxy Marions.

(We couldn’t find a suffciently awesome shot of Blanchett from Robin Hood, so we offer you this picture of her in a similarly armored situation, from the movie Elizabeth. Yes, this was just an excuse to remind you how awesome Queen Elizabeth was, so sue us.  We’ll be over here, watching our ornate costume porn.)

Ridley Scott, geek auteur supreme for Alien and Blade Runner, originally envisioned his Robin Hood movie as a flip: a noble Sheriff of Nottingham played by Russell Crowe.  The movie has changed since then into a more straightforward and familiar narrative, featuring Crowe as a noble Robin Hood sneaking through the woods with his band of Merry Insurgents Men.

Here’s hoping it turns out well.  We’d love to get excited about a big medieval battle sequence again.  It’s been too long since The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.