Tom Cruise may have suffered some serious blows recently, but they weren’t fatal ones. The star is in the frame to star in Warner Bros.’ big screen reboot of The Man From U.N. C.L.E .
Deadline reports that Warners is in early talks with the actor , while Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie is already locked to helm.
The original television series ran from 1964-68 and starred Robert Vaughan and David McCallum as two agents working for the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E) in the fight against the dastardly Thrush.
Warner Bros. previously had Steven Soderbergh earmarked to direct George Clooney in the lead role, but, after Clooney dropped out to have back surgery and Soderbergh left in 2011, it was back to the drawing board.
Before Soderbergh’s departure he had considered Michael Fassbender or Joel Kinnaman for roles after Clooney’s exit, while the studio —- according to The Playlist — had eyed Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, and Joel Edgerton.
If negotiations progress, Cruise will play Robert Vaughn’s international spy Napoleon Solo . As yet, there is no word on who might play Illya Kuryakin, the role played by David McCallum, the Russian agent working alongside Solo for the secret U.N.C.L.E. organisation.
It’s been noted that if Cruise bags the role it would give the action-loving actor another run at a franchise, although he still has future installments in the works with Mission: Impossible and — reportedly — Jack Reacher after it took more than $215 million worldwide for Paramount and Skydance.
Cruise recently wrapped Doug Liman’s All You Need Is Kill with Emily Blunt and will next be seen in Joseph Kosinki’s sci-fi thriller Oblivion which releases April 19 and has just dropped a featurette .
What do you think of Tom Cruise as a 2013 Man From U.N.C.L.E — inspired casting or is there a better choice?
[Image via Featureflash / Shutterstock.com ]