Remember The Man From U.N.C.L.E.? The spy thriller that has been kicking around over at Warner Bros. for a while? Well, it finally looks like the project is picking up steam again. After passing through many directors, including Steven Soderbergh, and finally landing on Guy Ritchie’s desk, the studio has now found its star in Tom Cruise.
The actor is in early talks to take the lead role, that of Napoleon Solo. If you recall, George Clooney was originally tied to the part and when he dropped out, Michael Fassbender, Johnny Depp and Channing Tatum all flirted with the project, but no one was able to lock down a deal. It should be noted that Cruise is not yet confirmed, but he is interested and negotiations are currently taking place.
Of course, the film is based on the television series of the same name, which aired in the 60s. There’s no word yet on which direction Ritchie is heading in with the film but Scott Z. Burns’ script is said to take the series back to its roots.
As for Cruise, if he does land the role, it would be yet another step in the mega-comeback that he’s been staging over the past few years. Though his star diminished for a while with the release of garbage like Knight and Day, Lions for Lambs, War of the Worlds and a few other crummy films, he turned things around in a big way with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. He also has Oblivion and All You Need To Kill on the horizon, both of which look like they will be big hits.
Hopefully things work out this time for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., because I do look forward to seeing the film adaptation, especially with Ritchie and Cruise working on it. This is a project that has been in development hell for far too long now and it deserves to see the light of day.