Not that I ever really watch sports, but much like the wheeling and dealings of major sports teams, it seems a lot of trades have been going down in Tinseltown lately. It’s bound to happen with all those actors and their jam-packed schedules – and the latest to arise may be the trade of one heavy-hitting Hollywood actor for another equally qualified box-office draw. Apparently there have been talks for Tom Cruise to take over a role that was once meant for George Clooney, in the adaptation of the 1960’s TV spy series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”
The film has been in development for quite some time but unfortunately fell into a tenuous stage of Murphy’s Law, where everything that could go wrong, did. Originally set to be helmed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clooney way back in 2010, the project fellapart when Clooney was forced to back out due to, well, a back injury. Lacking a leading man, the original screenwriter for the film, Scott Z. Burns, said, “I think we considered a lot of different folks…It just didn’t come together.”
A lot of different folks indeed. With every hot actor in the biz seemingly being considered (everyone from Channing Tatum to Johnny Depp), the movie could have ended up on the scrap heap entirely until Guy Ritchie (“Sherlock Holmes”) scooped it up about a year ago after Soderbergh departed it. And if the plot keeps with the original idea that it will be a vessel for “a new globe-trotting franchise that would serve as an alternative to the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series,” who better to lead than the “Mission” man himself, Tom Cruise?
Which leads to the next obvious question: How would such a move impact “Mission Impossible”? The last one made some decent money and seemed to imply that more were on the way. And with Cruise’s recent “Jack Reacher” also successful enough to potentially warrant sequels, it makes you wonder which franchise he’ll choose – or, being the famous overachiever that Cruise is, could he perhaps try to juggle both spy franchises simultaneously, or gor for the trifecta and keep making “Reacher” films as well? Our heads are spinning just thinking about it.
Of course, the “U.N.C.L.E.” stuff is still in the “preliminary talks” stage, so no confirmation on Cruise’s involvement yet, but it is pretty promising, especially since Cruise is still a certifiable action star and is no stranger to franchises. Guy Ritchie may also prove to be just the right man for this project as he has already proved adept at updating vintage, period stories into slick, modern adaptations as evidenced by the successful “Sherlock Holmes” films. Here’s hoping more of the details and casting get nailed down soon!