Crowe won an Oscar for his role in 2000 film Gladiator

Nottingham will see Crowe's Sheriff investigate a series of murders in which Robin Hood is the main suspect, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"Part of the strength of the script was the simple idea of doing Robin Hood by making the Sheriff the good guy," writer Ethan Reiff told the paper.

The project was the subject of a heated bidding war between rival studios.

Universal Pictures will make the film, which is expected to begin shooting by the end of the year.

Stinging reviews

Last year it was reported Universal had signed a $42.5m (�21.6m) deal with Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen to make a follow-up film involving his fashion-obsessed character Bruno.

Robin Hood returns to BBC One later this year

The studio was also reported to have paid $2 million (�1.02m) recently for the rights to a New York Times article about a group of football-playing refugees.

Reiff and his writing partner Cyrus Voris created the US drama series Sleeper Cell, about a Muslim FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist organisation.

Crowe was last seen in cinemas in A Good Year, a Provence-set romantic comedy directed by Sir Ridley Scott.

The film flopped in the US and received stinging reviews when it was released in France last month.