When George Clooney was forced to drop out(due to injury) from his buddy Steven Soderbergh's remake of spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., practically every big name on the planet was listed as a possibility to replace him. Matt Damon, Jude Law, Russell Crowe, and many more all said to be vying for the role of ace American spy Napoleon Solo. Well out of the group, one name has emerged and it comes something of a surprise to me: Bradley Cooper.
Variety reports that an offer has been made to Cooper for the coveted gig, which he probably wont' turn down considering it fits neatly into his schedule, and the opportunity to work with somebody like Soderbergh on what may be one of his final films. Right now, Cooper is still filming The Silver Linings Playbook for David O. Russell, and from there he goes straight into Alex Proyas' mammoth Paradise Lost. Once that's done, he'd jump directly into U.N.C.L.E., assuming everything in in place by then.
There's still the matter of casting Solo's opposite, the Russian spy Illya Kuryakin, a role expected to go to a younger, up 'n coming face Joel Kinnaman(Snabba Cash) is said to be one of the frontrunners at this point. The script by Scott Z. Burns(Contagion) will keep the spy film firmly set in the 1960s, and deal with the United Network Command for Law Enforcement and their ongoing battle with the terrorist organization T.H.R.U.S.H.
