[5] In 1194, English nobleman Robin of Locksley has spent years in an Ayyubid prison in Jerusalem, having followed King Richard the Lionheart on the Third Crusade.

They rob rich folk passing through the forest and distribute the stolen wealth and food among the poor, and are joined by the beer-loving Friar Tuck.

Robin's success and public support infuriate the Sheriff, who worsens his abuse of the peasants and kills Gisbourne for failing to stop the outlaws.

Mortianna advises the Sheriff to recruit fearsome Celtic warriors and that he must marry someone of royal blood: Marian, the king's cousin.

On February 14, 1990, Morgan Creek, the small production company of Young Guns (1988) and Major League (1989), saw "gold on the page" and immediately funded the film.

Reynolds said: "I'd done two pictures that hadn't made a dime, so I kind of knew [the studio] wanted me [for Robin Hood] because of my connections with Kevin."

Costner wanted an accent, but Reynolds thought it would distract audiences, and their indecision resulted in a drastically uneven delivery between each scene.

Fearing that the sudden cameo of a notorious comedic icon would destroy the drama, Densham recalls, "I so wanted to not have John Cleese that I said, 'Would you give me Sean Connery?

[12] Costner's explosive career gave him only a few days between the long-term epic projects of Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood, and JFK.

Scenes set in Sherwood Forest were filmed at various locations in England: The outlaws' encampment was filmed at Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire, south of the real Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire;[9] the fight scene between Robin and Little John was at Aysgarth Falls in North Yorkshire; and Marian sees Robin bathing at Hardraw Force, also in North Yorkshire.

[18] The 2003 cut adds 12 minutes of previously unreleased footage, which details the conspirators' plot to steal the throne from King Richard and further explores the relationship between the Sheriff and Mortianna.

[19] In one scene, Mortianna explains that she killed the true George Nottingham as a baby and replaced him with her own infant son, revealing that she is the Sheriff's real mother.

This creates a continuity error with a later scene that is retained from the theatrical cut, in which the scribe easily provides spoken directions to Robin and Azeem as they rescue Marian.

The critical consensus reads, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves brings a wonderfully villainous Alan Rickman to this oft-adapted tale, but he's robbed by big-budget bombast and a muddled screenplay.

[31] Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert praised the performances of Freeman and Rickman but ultimately decried the film as a whole, giving it two stars and stating, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a murky, unfocused, violent, and depressing version of the classic story...

"[32] The New York Times gave the film a negative review, with Vincent Canby writing that the movie is "a mess, a big, long, joyless reconstruction of the Robin Hood legend that comes out firmly for civil rights, feminism, religious freedom, and economic opportunity for all.

"[33] The Los Angeles Times also found the movie unsatisfactory,[34] criticizing Costner for not attempting an English accent,[35] and mocking Robin's afternoon walk from the White Cliffs to Nottingham via Hadrian's Wall, which is actually 560 miles (900 km).

[36] Desson Thomson, writing for The Washington Post, gave a more positive review: "Fair damsels and noble sirs, you must free yourselves of these wearisome observations.

"[37] Owen Gleiberman, of Entertainment Weekly also gave a positive review: "As a piece of escapism, this deluxe, action-heavy, 2-hour-and-21-minute Robin Hood gets the job done.

In 2017, the specialty film music label Intrada Records released a two-disc CD album containing the complete score and alternates, though not the songs from Bryan Adams and Jeff Lynne.

Developed by Sculptured Software Inc. and Bits Studios, respectively, and published by Virgin Games, Inc., they are the cover feature for the July 1991 issue of Nintendo Power magazine.

All but one of the figures were derived by slight modifications to Kenner's well-known Super Powers line, and Friar Tuck, the vehicles, and playsets were modified from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi toys.