Armie Hammer has bagged another potential franchise.
The “Lone Ranger” star has signed on for Warner Bros.’ “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” a big-screen version of the classic espionage series that ran for four seasons on NBC in the mid-1960s. Hammer will play the role of Illya Kuryakin, in the TV series depicted as a Soviet/Russian secret agent who works alongside American operative Napoleon Solo (the previously-cast Tom Cruise) for an international intelligence agency known as the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.). The two gadget-savvy partners face a regular adversary in THRUSH, an enemy organization intent on taking over the world.
The news was broken by Deadline.
Originally slated as a team-up between Steven Soderbergh and his “Ocean’s” star George Clooney, director Guy Ritchie was brought on board in December after Clooney’s departure from the project led Soderbergh to follow suit. Cruise, coming off the sci-fi hit “Oblivion,” signed on for the project just last month.
Hammer first gained attention starring as the Winklevoss twins in David Fincher’s “The Social Network” in 2010; subsequent projects have included “J. Edgar” opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and “Mirror, Mirror” with Lily Collins. He’ll next be seen as the title character in Disney’s big-budget gamble “The Lone Ranger,” which hits theaters over the 4th of July weekend.
What say you, “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” fans? Do you think Armie Hammer is a good fit for Illya Kuryakin? Sound off in the comments.