Eve Hewson will make it as Maid Marian

Believe it or not, here’s a news story concerning a traditional English hero who isn’t James Bond. This one’s all about the upcoming Robin Hood: Origins – more specifically that the casting couch have found their Maid Marian in the form of Eve Hewson.

Bono‘s 24-year-old daughter, who is still fairly new to the acting game, will star alongside Taron Egerton‘s Robin in the Lionsgate production.

Origins, which will be directed by Otto Bathurst of Peaky Blinders fame, is set to be a dark, humourless interpretation of the legend; much like what The Dark Knight did for Batman. And it’s a good thing too, because with no less than ten adaptations of the Sherwood Forest yarn in the offing, it needs to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Some famous faces have played Marian over the years, with Cate Blanchett‘s kick-ass heroine being the most recent one of note in Ridley Scott‘s 2010 offering. During the 1990s, the character proved to herald false dawns for both Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Amy Yasbeck, whose stars faded despite giving memorable performances in Prince of Thieves and Men In Tights respectively.

Apparently, the number of actresses considered for the role was well over the three-figure mark and included names such as Gaite Jansen and Lucy Fry. So this is most definitely another feather in the cap for Dubliners everywhere to sit alongside the likes of Guinness, James Joyce and some pub band called U2.

With Egerton contracted to get Kingsman 2 done and dusted, filming will now start later than scheduled next summer. In the meantime, you can catch Hewson on the big screen next month in the Tom Hanks thriller Bridge of Spies.