Armie Hammer joins Tom Cruise in 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'

Warner Bros. has run into a few problems trying to mount a remake to the 1960s spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., once having the top tier trio of Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, and writer Scott Z. Burns on board. Creative differences over casting led Soderbergh to drop out, only to be replaced by Guy Ritchie, who the studio trusts implicitly after two successful Sherlock Holmes films. Tom Cruise began circling the lead agent role last month, and now not only has he been confirmed, but Armie Hammer will be joining him.

This completely a pretty incredible run for Hammer that has seen him working alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar, and Johnny Depp in The Lone Ranger. Cruise will be playing American spy Napoleon Solo, with Hammer as "a version" of Russian agent Illya Kuryakin. The show starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as agents for an espionage and law enforcement agency who take on an evil organization known as THRUSH.

Playing sidekick to a number of A-listers has worked wonders for Hammer, who had his breakout in The Social Network as the Winklevoss twins. With Cruise's schedule it's unclear when this will roll in front of cameras, but expect Warner Bros. to want to get moving quickly. [Deadline]