Will Tom Cruise say U.N.C.L.E.? According to Deadline.com reporter Mike Fleming, Cruise is in preliminary talks to star in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." for Warner Bros. and director Guy Ritchie. The film is based on the cult series of the same name that ran on television from 1964 through 1968; Robert Vaughn starred on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." as Napoleon Solo, the spy role that Cruise would play if his deal is worked out.
Cruise is just the latest A-list star attached to "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." The project was originally set up by Warner Bros. in November of 2010 with Steven Soderbergh set as director and George Clooney in the starring role. Clooney dropped out in August of that year after suffering a back injury, however, forcing Soderbergh to search for a replacement.
"I think in the end we talked about a lot of people. Matt [Damon] was busy; I think we considered a lot of different folk," screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, who wrote the "Man From U.N.C.L.E." script that Soderbergh was planning to direct, told Collider in January of this year. "It just didn't come together."
Johnny Depp, Channing Tatum, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender were also reportedly considered for the leading role, but no deals were closed. Soderbergh, meanwhile, eventually parted ways with "U.N.C.L.E." when he couldn't agree with Warner Bros. on the film's budget; he went on to direct this year's "Side Effects," which was written by Burns. That opened the door for Ritchie, the "Sherlock Holmes" director, to jump aboard the film in December of 2011.
For more on Cruise's potential new role, head over to Deadline.com.
[via Deadline.com]
