Everyone knows the story of Robin Hood: an outlaw steals from the rich and gives to the poor — it's as simple as that. The story has been a relatively family-friendly tale, as most of the trouble Robin usually finds himself in can be thwarted with one-liners and rope swinging. Of course, the story's no stranger to the silver screen: over the past 80 years, numerous actors and producers have brought their interpretation of the character to movie theaters.

Case in point: there are no less than four separate Robin Hood-based projects in Hollywood right now, each with a different take on the titular hero. The strangest of the bunch is probably Robin Hood: Origins — while many of the character's on-screen appearances have been light-hearted affairs, Origins is going for a dark, gritty, "realistic" take on Robin Hood.

It may sound crazy, but the project is starting to pick up steam: as production ramps up, more and more of the crew is being locked down. In fact, Lionsgate (via Deadline) has just confirmed that Peaky Blinders director Otto Bathurst will also be directing Robin Hood: Origins.

Much of the project is still in the early planning stages, and no one knows what sort of influence Bathurst will bring to the production. Bathurst definitely has some experience under his belt: aside from directing Peaky Blinders, he also directed Midnight Delivery and the first controversial episode of the sci-fi anthology show Black Mirror. The dark and gritty Robin Hood: Origins is already being compared to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

However, Origins won't be the first rough reimagining of the character: Ridley Scott's 2010 Robin Hood was a far bleaker look at the character than anything else before, but the film failed to really resonate with critics or movie-goers. With any luck, Robin Hood: Origins will find its audience quickly — there's going to be quite a bit of competiton.

Robin Hood: Origins enters production early next year.

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