Bradley Cooper Will Not Be Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Man From U.N.C.L.E.’
George Clooney,Johnny Depp, andMatt Damonhave all passed on the part, and now it appearsBradley Cooperwon’t beSteven Soderbergh’sMan From U.N.C.L.E., either. TheHangoverstar was offered the lead role of American spy Napoleon Solo in Soderbergh’s big-screen adaptation of the ’60s serieslast month, but a new report says he’s now turned down the project. Meanwhile, the search for a star to play Solo’s partner, Russian spy Illya Kuryakin, continues. More after the jump.
But casting may not totally be back at square one yet.Vulturereportedlast weekthatThe ThingactorJoel Edgertoncould be playing Kuryakin, who was portrayed byDavid McCallumon television. As far as we know, Edgerton has neither accepted nor declined the offer at this point. Interestingly, their story claimed that Cooper was waiting to see whom Warner Bros. would cast as Kuryakin before committing to the project.
Solo and Kuryakin fought side-by-side as members of the international spy agency U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement) for four seasons on NBC between 1964 and 1968, often battling an evil organization called T.H.R.U.S.H. (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity). Soderbergh and writerScott Z. Burnshave said that they would “take U.N.C.L.E. back to its roots” by “not moderniz[ing] the film and keep[ing] it set in the director’s beloved 1960s,” though an earlier incarnation of the project hadWedding CrashershelmerDavid Dobkindoing a comedic spin on the premise.
It doesn’t seem like agoodsign that Cooper (and Clooney, and Depp, and Damon) has declined the role, though on the other hand, that could mean absolutely nothing. After all, Cooper’s busy enough as it is. The rising star has just wrappedThe Place Beyond the Pineswith director Derek Cianfrance and star Ryan Gosling and is currently shooting David O. Russell’sThe Silver Linings Playbook, with Alex Proyas’Paradise Lostlined up next.
