Crowe as Robin Hood will create history

AUSTRALIAN superstar Russell Crowe will create a little bit of history when he becomes the latest name to don the Lincoln green.

At 45 he will be the oldest actor to appear in the hero's tights in a sequence of films going back to a silent short made in 1908.

Over the years nearly 100 films and television series have been made about the legendary outlaw.

But, according to the Internet Movie Database, the 1938 version, which starred Errol Flynn – also Australian by birth – remains the most popular; Flynn was 29 when he starred alongside Olivia de Havilland.

For the latest edition, originally titled Nottingham but now likely to be called Robin Hood, director Ridley Scott opted for Crowe, who he directed in Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster and Body Of Lies, after considering Welshman Christian Bale and relative newcomer Sam Riley, a Yorkshireman.

Last month stories were circulating about a feud between Scott and his main man.

But Universal chairman Marc Shmuger said: "Russell and Ridley are working on their fifth film together and have one of the strongest and most collaborative working relationships."

Maid Marian will be Cate Blanchett, another Australian. Kate Winslet was considered.