I admit that I have been a very bad film blogger. I have entirely ignored the news about the upcoming film version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., mostly because I’m all Tom Cruised-out and just could not be bothered. But now I am intrigued by some of the latest casting news, as Swedish actress Alicia Vikander has been cast as the female lead opposite Cruise.
You may remember Vikandar from Anna Karenina (she was Kitty) or A Royal Affair. She has not yet made the big splash in American cinema as she perhaps should have, but she’s getting there. And a part in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is probably a good place to start.
Vikander’s part is being described as a British agent with a love of automobiles- sounds like my true favorite 1960s female badass, Mrs. Emma Peel, but anyways. This, by the way, is not a character from the original TV series that starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. In fact, I’m pretty positive that this character has just been dreamed up by the producers to add some much needed girl power to what is really a very masculine plot.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. has had a hard time getting going, what with George Clooney dropping out of the lead (now replaced by Tom Cruise) and Steven Soderbergh taking a powder. Now we have Cruise and Armie Hammer as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin respectively, with Guy Ritchie in the director’s chair. With the female lead finally cast, it looks like this one might actually get made sometime in the next millenia.
Honestly, the more I think about this, the more fun The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is shaping up to be. A good 1960s spy story that is not James Bond? I can get behind that one. With Vikander stepping in, I am hereby intrigued.