Robin Hood and little John

Batman and Robin, Herakles and Hylas, Indiana Jones and Short Round.... Popular culture is replete with kid sidekicks ready-made for a pederastic interpretation. The new Robin Hood film adds a new pairing to the mix. In past films, Little John's epithet has been explained away as a play on his surname or even a jibe at the size of his manhood. But in the final scene of The Death of Robin Hood it's revealed that Robin Hood would call him "little" because he was actually a boy when they first met in their duel on the bridge. Unfortunately, this is not directly depicted. Instead the film has Robin serving as a mentor to Little John's daughter (or child-bride?). But I figure that BL culture stands to appropriate anything it can and the idea of Robin Hood and his YF Little John cavorting in the woods would be a worthy addition. The film itself isn't for everyone. While I appreciate its deconstructionist approach and the fact that it reasonably accurately follows the storyline of the 17th century ballad on the subject, it could have done a better job of convincing the audience of how Robin Hood comes to his final choice in order to earn the premise of its title.