Not too long ago we reported that Tom Cruise was wanted for the lead role in Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a film that Steven Soderbergh was attached to for a long time with George Clooney set to play the lead. Now we’re hearing that Cruise is confirmed and joining him will be none other than Armie Hammer.
After having his career launched thanks to his excellent supporting performance in David Fincher’s The Social Network, the actor has been steadily climbing up the Hollywood ladder. He co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar and will soon be seen opposite Johnny Depp in The Longe Ranger. Not bad for an actor who just broke out a couple of years ago, eh? Admittedly, he’s also made a few poor career choices along the way, *cough* Mirror Mirror *cough*, but we’ll choose to forget about that.
In The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Hammer will play Illya Kuryakin, the wingman to Cruise’s Napoleon Solo. If you’re not familiar with the 1960’s television show that the film is based on, it followed “Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, two agents of the United Network Command for Law Enforcement, who fight evil (primarily an organization of Bad people called, THRUSH) and use charm, wit, and a never ending assortment of gadgets.”
This is a film that’s been kicking around over at Warner Bros. for far too long now, so it’s nice to see that the project is starting to pick up some traction. With Ritchie behind the camera, and Cruise and Hammer co-starring, I can see this one turning into a real treat. Already I can imagine the chemistry that the two leads will produce and I think it’s a pairing that will work out very well.
What do you think? Are you happy to see Armie Hammer join The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?
