EXCLUSIVE: Eve Hewson has landed the role of Maid Marian in Lionsgate’s Robin Hood: Origins, the Otto Bathurst-directed film that will go into production next summer right after Taron Egerton stars in the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service. Egerton plays Robin Hood, and while negotiations are just beginning, barring some unforseen calamity he’ll share the screen with Hewson, the Irish-born actress who starred in The Knick and who’ll be next seen in the Steven Spielberg-directed Bridge Of Spies.

This was a much coveted job — over 100 young actresses were considered — and I’d previously written that Hewson was part of a short list that included Dutch actress Gaite Jansen (Supernova), Australian thesp Lucy Fry (Vampire Academy) and British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle). It’ll be Hewson who shines up Sherwood Forest.

Peaky Blinders‘ Bathurst is directing the gritty, revisionist take on the legend. Joby Harold, the scribe who wrote Knights Of The Roundtable: King Arthur with Guy Ritchie directing Charlie Hunnam, has conjured up the origins story that has been likened to The Dark Knight. Here, Robin Hood returns from fighting in The Crusades and finds that Sherwood Forest is rife with corruption and evil. He forms a band of outlaws and they take matters into their own hands. The picture is being produced by Appian Way’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson, and Safe House’s Harold and Tory Tunnell and Basil Iwanyk.

The picture’s timing was moved back a bit because Egerton had an option to fulfill on the Kingsman sequel, but I’m told this movie is definitely going. It’s not the only Robin Hood movie percolating. Disney has the Brandon Barker spec Nottingham & Hood, which is said to be in the vein of Pirates Of The Caribbean and Enchanted. The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona are producing. Sony last fall bought a Robin Hood pitch for $1 million from Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott with Jerry Bruckheimer producing and Aperture’s Adam Goldworm executive producing. That project, Hood, has been described as Fast And Furious meets Mission: Impossible. Warner Bros has also quietly put one of its own Robin Hood projects into development, scripted by Gangster Squad and Aquaman scribe Will Beall and produced by The Lego Movie‘s Dan Lin and John Zaozirny.

Hewson is repped by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment.