With George Clooney forced to bow out due to a bad back from the physically demanding lead role of Napoleon Solo in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” director Steven Soderbergh began looking at a number of possible actors to take on the part with Michael Fassbender and Ewan McGregor among his favored names. However, Warner Bros. has got the ball rolling, placing a call to somebody on their wishlist.
Variety reports that Bradley Cooper has received an offer to take on the franchise film. The “The Hangover” and “Limitless” star has spent the year building up a considerable calendar of work having already wrapped “The Words” and Derek Cianfrance‘s reteam with Ryan Gosling “The Place Beyond The Pines,” and he’s currently in front of cameras on David O. Russell‘s “The Silver Linings Playbook.” After that he will fly to Australia to play Lucifer in Alex Proyas‘ “Paradise Lost” and if the pieces come together on ‘U.N.C.L.E.’ he would shoot that in March 2012.
The film has a script from Scott Z. Burns’ (“Contagion,” “The Informant!”) and will be a 1960s period piece set in London during the Cold War, that also features a strong co-starring slot for the role of Russian spy Ilya Kuryakin. Will Cooper become part of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement and take on T.H.R.U.S.H.? We’ll soon see.