Sometimes it just takes getting the right people in place to get a project underway. That could be the case for the movie adaptation of the mid-sixties series Man From U.N.C.L.E. After sitting on the shelf for more than a decade, the people behind the scenes of the Warner Bros. film are being shuffled around to hopefully finally get this project off the ground.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ran on NBC from 1964 through 1968. The TV show stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as two spies, one American and one Russian, who work for an international law enforcement agency, the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (abbreviated to U.N.C.L.E.). The series, which credits Ian Fleming (the man behind James Bond) as a creator, also bore a short-lived spin-off in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., over twenty novels, and a 1983 reunion titled The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
Originally Warner Bros. started working on the movie adaptation in the 1990s, with David Wilson writing the original script, and Max Borenstein working the rewrites. David Dobkin (The Wedding Crashers, Fred Claus) had been tapped as director. At that time, it was expected that the output would be geared towards action-comedy.
This movie adaptation is once again seeing life, with Dobkin moving from director to producer, and John Davis joining him. Steven Soderbergh, the man behind Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, and Traffic, is in talks to take over as director. Scott Z. Burns, the writer of Soderbergh’s films The Informant and the upcoming Contagion would come into the project as well to write an all-new script.
It also looks like George Clooney may join the project as American spy Napoleon Solo, Vaughn’s old role. He and Soderbergh have worked together on several projects already. According to Playlist, the film will retain the 1960s setting, a time period that Soderbergh has a great affection for.
Current plans are for the picture to shoot in late 2001 but it may ultimately get pushed into 2012.
What do you think? Would you be interested in seeing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie with these players? Do you think it stands a better chance than other TV show-based movies of being good?
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29 Comments on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: Movie May Finally Get Made with George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh"
Your all nuts! Clooney is way too old to play Solo! Terrible choice!
No. Get David McCallum. There could be an NCIS epidose where he tells Mark Harmon and the staff that he has been recalled to the UN for special service. Get Robert Vaughn too, a good plot, some cool action scenes….and yeah, bring back “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” one of the most hokey shows ever made, but I loved every episode. That submarine had to be the most durable ever made…Irwin Allen…well, I got to get back to my YouTube videos with ABBA, Donovan, and ….
It could, and I emphasize,could be a good movie, if done right. It can’t be campy or goofy. Make it like “24” with the high-tech weapons the old show had in it’s day, a cool, but believable headquarters, a believable plot with a believable bad guy and good acting. Throw in the mandatory cool cars, hot babes, explosions and action scenes and you could have a hit and a franchise on your hands. Next – “Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea”. I’ve been waiting.
Clooney is a good choice, How about Owen Wilson or even
I think George Clooney is a nice idea for Solo. How about Owen Wilson or Bill Pullman play his partner? How about Fred Thompson as Mr. Waverly…just a thought.
Clooney is a good pick no doubt, but Brad Pitt could pull off a great Ilya; perfect pairing already proven to work on the big screen.
I think that James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender would both be good in this movie as well. Those are the two actors in X-Men First Class.
it would great to see a tv on the big screen.
As a big fan of the TV show, this would be a great idea! In my opinion this was the original buddy team of all time.
I would like to see Ed Norton as the russian partner
Can’t Wait.
I enjoyed the origianl TV series, but I am not too thrilled with the movie being set in the 60s. Technology has came a long way and there are a ton of gadgets that can come in to play if the movie was set in present day. Also, I like Clooney, but I think he is too old for Solo. My choices would be Chris Pine for Solo and Anton Yelchin for Kuryakin. Who are they? They both appeared in Star Trek (2009) Chris played Kirk and Anton played Chekov.
Please make it a serious spy movie like the first season of the original and not the camp version of seasons 3 following. Bring back David McCallum and Robert Vaughn as the heads of UNCLE New York and Moscow. Get new stars with the chemistry that Vaughn and McCallum had. But pleeze don’t make it camp!!!! And you’ll have a winner!
Although George Clooney is an okay choice as Solo, I can’t help but see Kevin Spacey as more suited to the role. Spacey has more the Vaughan/Solo characteristics, and even if you think about it, the Vaughan dialogue inflections, which Vaughan effectively used, giving Life to the character. There is a prominent British actor who could also be Mr Waverly.
Not sure about Illya’s character.
I agree with Bob behers, need to update the movie script to reflect current time and real problems. Movie must be more action movie then comedy. Sorry Cloney is too old for the part of solo. And you don’t need a Seth Rogen type in a in a lead role -he did not add any value to the current movie release.