Steven Soderbergh is a busy man. He is currently filming Magic Mike and will release Haywire in January. He also has Liberace, which has just been picked up by HBO films. On top of all that, he also has another film in production, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. While the lead role has been open for a while, it seems as if Soderbergh has decided on his choice for the part.
After George Clooney left the role of Napoleon Solo, many actors were listed as possible replacements. A couple names that popped up were Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Michael Fassbender, among others.
DiCaprio and Damon are both contractually unavailable and Michael Fassbender passed on the project to work on Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave and an Untitled Jim Jarmusch Project.
Bradley Cooper, who was on the initial list, seems to be Soderbergh’s choice for the role. Cooper is currently filming David O. Russell’s The Silver Lining Playbook and once he has completed that, he will film Paradise Lost. There is no news yet on whether Cooper has accepted the role, but with production around the corner, I’m sure we will have our answer soon.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. starts filming around late February with a late 2012 release in eye.