The Uprising (2026): Release Date, Cast & Plot Guide

The Uprising (2026): Release Date, Cast, Plot & Everything We Know

Paul Greengrass is returning to familiar ground, a historical epic featuring hyper shaky cameras and authentic fear, and this time he's in 14th-century England. The Uprising opens 10 September 2026. In fact, it's one of the handful of films I've actually been keeping an eye on this year as a potential epic.

Of course, most people have no idea about the history behind the film. If you're wondering what the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 is all about, fear not. We'll fill you in on the details already available, who's involved and why this project is set to be different from the medieval fantasy epic you might expect from a studio wanting to top the list of Braveheart.

This isn't an expensive, high-budget medieval chronicle a.k.a. just another cash-grab from a studio copying big-budget hits, either. Greengrass has already proven that he's a director who makes history seem painfully real and The Uprising looks set to be just as accurate.

What Is The Uprising (2026) About?

The powerfully simple synopsis goes: In a land ravaged by war and plague, the single spark of a miserable peasant boils over and starts the biggest rebellion in the Middle Ages, uniting an army of rebels to challenge the authority of the monarchy in a desperate fight for life and justice. That's the whole premise of the movie. Nothing hidden, nothing fantasy-like.

Just people getting fed up with the system. Clearly, Greengrass is working with the Peasants' Revolt, the largest revolt in the history of feudal England. Poll taxes, laws forcing the laboring classes to work on public projects during the Black Death, and a ruling aristocracy that dehumanized working folk in every way possible.

Sounds familiar?

It probably does, and that is most likely one of the main reasons for choosing this event to dramatize.

The tagline, "Rise or die," tells you everything about the tone. This isn't going to be a triumphant, feel-good historical romp. Greengrass doesn't really do those. Think United 93 or Captain Phillips, that same tense, boots on the ground energy, except now it's swords and pitchforks instead of hijacked planes.

What I find genuinely interesting is how the film seems to center the peasant perspective rather than the crown's. Most medieval dramas love lingering on castles and court intrigue. The Uprising, based on everything released so far, looks like it's staying close to the ground, literally and figuratively, following the people who actually did the fighting and dying.

• The Uprising is set during the real Peasants' Revolt of 1381 in England.
• Andrew Garfield leads the cast as a character named Ploughman, a symbolic peasant figure.
• Paul Greengrass directs, bringing his signature documentary-style urgency to the period setting.
• The film releases in theaters on September 10, 2026.
• The Uprising features historical figures including Wat Tyler and John Ball alongside the dramatized central character.
• Runtime is confirmed at 128 minutes.

When Does The Uprising Come Out?

The film is scheduled for release on 10th September 2026. That's a fall release date, one that has generally tended to be a smart choice for prestige dramas seeking to build awards momentum in the next year. Films by Greengrass, like United 93, have done well to avoid dumping in the middle of summer blockbuster season and find the time and space to be taken seriously.

As of now, the film is listed as being in post production, which in the world of cinema means editing, sound work, and likely a healthy amount of color grading to achieve that distinctively gritty, lived-in aesthetic Greengrass is famous for. We haven't gotten a trailer breakdown yet but history suggests we can expect visceral shots rather than glossy ones.

Here is the thing though: release dates for historical dramas can change; they can be moved to better fit awards season consideration or to dodge a crowded weekend. So if you want to keep it in mind in the coming months, I recommend watching out for The Uprising in the lead up to the release date. Currently the date to remember is 10th September 2026. You can also keep tabs on new streaming arrivals this month to catch it the moment it lands on a platform.

The film's runtime has been stated to be 128 minutes. This sounds very reasonable, not too long to cover the sweep of a national rebellion but not too short either. And if anyone can do it while maintaining a succinct runtime, it's Greengrass.

Who's In The Cast of The Uprising?

The cast is filled with really compelling choices, led by Andrew Garfield in the lead role of Ploughman, what more can I say to win you over if that doesn't?

Garfield has shown in projects such as Hacksaw Ridge and Tick Tick...Boom! that he has the capacity to shoulder serious, emotionally taxing parts, so a simple peasant setting a national uprising alight seems an obvious fit. Jamie Bell will appear in the role of John Ball, the radical priest figure associated with the intellectual pillar of the uprising (his actual sermons are the stuff of legend). Meanwhile Cosmo Jarvis will show up as Wat Tyler, the historical leader of the uprising itself.

Jarvis has been quietly working up a strong body of work and this feels like the sort of role that could get him noticed.

Providing the opposition in this battle of wills is Sir Robert Hales, played by Tom Hollander, and a young King Richard II of England, played by Woody Norman. Norman playing a boy king fighting to retain his power as his kingdom descends into chaos is fascinating, especially when set against Garfield's Ploughman on the other side of the class divide. The rest of the cast is completed by Stephen Dillane, Thomasin McKenzie, and Jonny Lee Miller.

It is a pretty incredible cast, here is a cast list for reference:

Actor	Role
Andrew Garfield	Ploughman
Jamie Bell	John Ball
Cosmo Jarvis	Wat Tyler
Tom Hollander	Sir Robert Hales
Woody Norman	Richard II of England
Stephen Dillane	TBA
Thomasin McKenzie	TBA
Jonny Lee Miller	TBA

Why Is Paul Greengrass Directing This?

Paul Greengrass is the perfect director for The Uprising because this is pretty much his territory. Take a quick glance at his films. United 93. Captain Phillips. Bloody Sunday. Even the Bourne series, these mass chaos stories end up being told through the lens of the everyday person getting caught up in world-altering systems they couldn't control.

But what really intrigued me about Greengrass taking on a movie like this is he usually doesn't work in period settings. Where a lot of historical dramas take place in eras our grandparents might remember, Greengrass most often works in the near past, ones our parents might remember. And so, on the surface, The Uprising wouldn't seem his cup of tea. But thematically? Totally up his alley.

I have a feeling the director's approach will strip out a lot of the spectacle that we'd normally associate with movies set in that time period. No sweeping shots of characters running across the moors, no slo-mo beheadings a la Game of Thrones. Greengrass's voice is gritty and real, and so I feel like we'll also see real reactions from the actors, textured and subtle, forcing us to understand medieval people in the same harsh and clear lens that we did the folk in United 93.

And, if that turns out to be a successful methodology, then watching The Uprising become a 'history-rewritten' sort of medieval action film could be pretty amazing.

Is The Uprising Historically Accurate?

Based on the synopsis, The Uprising appears to closely follow the real events of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England, though some dramatization is expected. The film blends real historical figures like Wat Tyler and John Ball with a central character named simply "Ploughman," played by Garfield, which suggests some composite or symbolic storytelling at play too.

This mix of real names and more symbolic ones is actually a smart move. It lets the film stay grounded in documented history while giving Greengrass room to build a more personal, intimate narrative thread through Garfield's character. A lot of historical epics stumble because they try to cram in every real event and lose the emotional core. This structure suggests they're avoiding that trap.

The backdrop, war and plague devastating England, lines up with the real historical context of the era. The Black Death had recently torn through the population, labor shortages shifted power dynamics between peasants and nobility, and a new poll tax pushed people past their breaking point. It's genuinely one of history's great "final straw" moments.

I wouldn't expect a documentary-level accuracy here, but I also wouldn't expect wild historical liberties either. Greengrass has too much of a reputation for grounded storytelling to suddenly swing into fantasy territory.

My honest prediction?

The Uprising will turn out to be one of the best historical dramas of 2026 and Cosmo Jarvis as Wat Tyler will be the performance everyone remembers most by award season. With Greengrass directing and this cast, there's no reason it shouldn't be. Mark The Uprising down for release on September 10, 2026.

I will follow the trailers as they appear, and if you are a fan of historical dramas which treat history with respect, you should do the same. When a trailer drops, it's worth checking out the full footage online to get a real feel for Greengrass's approach before heading to the theater.