In 1194 A.D., Robin of Locksley is imprisoned in Jerusalem after fighting in the Crusades under King Richard. One night, he overpowers a guard, and frees his companion, Peter Dubois, while a Moor named Azeem, who has been sentenced to death for murder, begs to be freed as well. Promising to show them the way out, Azeem accompanies Robin and Peter, who is shot down by a guard’s arrow outside the prison. As he dies, Peter asks Robin to deliver a ring to his sister, Marian, and watch after her. Robin attempts to part ways with Azeem, but the Moor insists on repaying Robin by seeing him home safely to England. Arriving at Locksley Castle, Robin finds his home decimated, his father’s corpse hanging in a cage, and the Locksleys’ aged servant, Duncan, blinded. Duncan explains Lord Locksley was executed by the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham after confessing to Satan worship. However, Robin is certain his father was a pious Christian and provides the man with a proper burial. He recalls Lord Locksley’s disapproval of the Crusades as a vain effort to force religion onto others, and vows to avenge his death. Meanwhile, Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff of Nottingham’s cousin, informs the Sheriff of Robin’s return. The Sheriff consults with Mortianna, a witch, who predicts King Richard “The Lionheart” will soon return and screams that a “painted man” haunts her dreams. The Sheriff deduces that the painted man is Azeem as Mortianna urges him to kill both him and Robin. When Robin seeks out Marian at her home, she initially attacks, dressed as a male guard, but stops when she confirms his identity. Robin gives her Peter’s ring and vows to protect her, despite Marian’s suspicion that he is still the spoiled bully she knew as a child. Guy of Gisborne approaches, prompting Azeem and Robin to flee on two of Marian’s horses. The men brave the Sherwood Forest, rumored to be full of ghosts, where they are ambushed by a group of hungry peasants led by Little John, who demands Robin’s gold medallion. Robin agrees to fight for it, plunging into an icy river as Little John knocks him over with a large stick. Robin eventually prevails against Little John, earning the group’s respect. That night, at a campfire, Little John reveals that everyone in his group is an outlaw, but when Robin suggests fighting back against the Sheriff of Nottingham, Little John insists they are farmers, not fighters. On Sunday, poor people beg for alms at church as Robin sneaks in, disguised as a blind man in a hooded cloak. Robin approaches Marian, who informs him the Sheriff has placed a reward on his head. When Robin goes in search of the Bishop, the Sheriff approaches Marian, presents her with a gold dagger, and promises to hang Robin for stealing her horses. Hiding her alliance with Robin, Marian nonetheless encourages the Sheriff to act benevolently as her cousin, King Richard, will reward faithful subjects upon returning from the Crusades. In his chambers, the Bishop informs Robin that Lord Locksley was, indeed, a Satan worshipper. Robin realizes the Bishop is in cahoots with the Sheriff and narrowly escapes Nottingham’s men. Outside the church, he steals the Sheriff’s horse and a bag of food, then delivers it to his hungry friends in Sherwood Forest. The Sheriff burns down a village in search of Robin, whom he now refers to as “Robin Hood” and “The Sherwood Bandit,” and the homeless villagers join the other peasants in the forest. Robin leads his outlaw comrades in a series of robberies, stealing from rich people as they pass through the forest en route to London and distributing the loot to the poor. One day, they ambush a group of Nottingham soldiers led by Guy of Gisborne as they transport a chest of gold. Robin’s group steals the gold and takes a drunken clergyman, Friar Tuck, captive. When Guy returns to Nottingham Castle to report the robbery, the Sheriff kills him. Marian and her handmaid, Sarah, come to Sherwood Forest and discover the elaborate campsite Robin’s group has built. Robin shows her the money he has stolen, explaining that some of it was “blood money” sent by the Sheriff to assassinate King Richard, and Marian donates the Sheriff’s gold dagger. Marian wonders how a former nobleman has found his place amongst peasants, and Robin quotes his father, saying nobility is “not a birthright but defined by one’s actions.” She asks if his experience in the Crusades erased Robin’s hatred of his father, and he says he does not know, recalling his father’s affair with a peasant woman shortly after his mother’s death. Robin admits he wants a family of his own, but Marian questions whether a “Prince of Thieves” is capable of love. Their talk is interrupted when Fanny, Little John’s wife, goes into labor. Azeem, who has proven himself an expert fighter and wise man, saves her from a breech birth by turning the baby before it is born. In the morning, Robin asks Marian to send word to King Richard in France, telling him of the Sheriff’s plan to assassinate the king. Later that day, Marian entrusts one of the Bishop’s men to deliver her letter to France, sending Sarah along with him. However, the man knocks Sarah unconscious and re-routes the letter to the Sheriff. Throngs of mercenary Celts join Nottingham’s army as they descend on Sherwood Forest. Robin’s men take cover in the trees, where they have built platforms and bridges, but Nottingham’s army destroys their campsite with flaming arrows. Many of the outlaws are taken prisoner, but Robin disappears after a potentially fatal fall. Marian is kidnapped and held prisoner at Nottingham Castle, where the Sheriff informs her that she must marry him to save the lives of the peasants he has taken captive. Presenting Robin’s medallion as proof that he is dead, the Sheriff sends Marian into a fit of tears. In the dungeon, the Sheriff demands the whereabouts of Robin Hood, uncertain whether he is dead or alive. Will Scarlett, a young outlaw who resents Robin Hood, offers to betray the bandit in exchange for freedom. Scarlett is released and soon finds Robin burying his fallen comrades. He announces the Sheriff’s plans for a public hanging the next day, but Robin suspects that Scarlett is there to kill him, and asks why the young man harbors him ill will. Scarlett explains that they are brothers – his mother was the peasant woman with whom Lord Locksley had an affair. If it weren’t for Robin’s disapproval of the relationship, Scarlett would have been raised as a Locksley. Robin embraces Scarlett, rejoicing that he has a brother, and the two reconcile. Robin and Azeem mastermind a plan to infiltrate Nottingham Castle before the public hanging, filling beer barrels with explosive powder that are snuck in by Friar Tuck. As Robin, Azeem, Little John, and Fanny take position on the castle walls, Scarlett sneaks into the crowd of onlookers. A peasant captive named Wulf recognizes Scarlett on his way to the scaffold and calls him a traitor. When guards find him armed, Scarlett is taken to the scaffold with the other prisoners who are about to be hanged. Azeem takes aim at a barrel of explosives, but when he is about to fire a flaming arrow, an executioner thwarts him by laying Scarlett’s head on the barrel for decapitation. Robin shoots the executioner with a flaming arrow just before he kills Scarlett. Azeem calls out to the villagers, urging them to join the fight for freedom. As Robin’s growing army storms the castle, Mortianna warns the Sheriff he is doomed if he does not marry Marian and impregnate her right away. The Bishop rushes the wedding ceremony, then watches as the Sheriff attempts to rape Marian. Just then, Azeem attacks Mortianna and Robin comes to Marian’s aid. Elsewhere, Friar Tuck finds the Bishop stashing money for an escape and pushes him out the window. The Sheriff and Robin face off in a swordfight, but just as the Sheriff pins Robin against the wall, wielding Lord Locksley’s sword, Robin produces the Sheriff’s gold dagger and stabs him to death. Mortianna re-appears, attempting to kill Robin, but Azeem saves him, announcing that he has finally repaid his debt. Marian embraces Robin, who says he would die for her. Soon after, the two are wed in the forest by Friar Tuck. Surprising the bride and groom, King Richard appears and thanks Robin for protecting his throne. The newly married couple kisses and everyone cheers.