It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but it looks like things are finally starting to move forward.
Until now, we’ve not heard any word on who might be taking the leading role for Ritchie. But now it looks like Ritchie and Warner Bros. may have found their man in Tom Cruise.
Deadline report that Cruise is in early talks with the studio to board the project, having recently finished shooting Doug Liman’s All You Need Is Kill. That film is also set up at Warner Bros., and undoubtedly must be impressing the studio to be looking to set up what could well be a possible new franchise for Cruise with The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The original TV series ran from 1964-68, with Robert Vaughan and David McCallum playing Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, two agents of the United Network Command for Law Enforcement. With gadgets and their wits and charm, they fought the evil forces of Thrush.
The project has been in the works for a while now, with Ritchie coming on board to direct after Steven Soderbergh decided to exit the director’s chair back in late 2011, after George Clooney had to drop out of the leading role due to needing surgery.
The last we heard from the project, the script was already in place, written by Soderbergh’s frequent collaborator, Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, Side Effects).
Ritchie is set to direct as well as produce, with his new production partner, Lionel Wigram (Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter), boarding the project back in 2011 alongside him.
Cruise was most recently seen at the end of last year in Jack Reacher, which itself is set to begin a new franchise for the actor at Paramount, following the film’s successful international box office takings. He’ll next be seen in Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion, which is due to arrive on 12th April in the UK and April 19th in the US, and sees him returning to sci-fi/blockbuster territory for the first time in years.
With Liman’s All You Need Is Kill now in post-production, Cruise will likely be looking to firm up his next roles soon, and I personally would love to see Ritchie and Cruise working together. Here’s to hoping that production on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. will get underway soon, and that Sherlock Holmes 3 can follow soon after. More as we get it.
