Warner Bros. has been trying to get an adaptation of the 1960s spy TV series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” onto the screen for several years now. They came close with a Steven Soderbergh version in 2011, but the director bailed, tired of the studio’s hemming and hawing on casting and budget. Guy Ritchie, who is practically an in-house filmmaker at the studio — his last three pictures were made there and all his in-development projects are there (including the upcoming “Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur)”— eventually took over and stuck out the development.
So in Ritchie’s “fresh take” on the hugely popular 1960s television series, Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel”) stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer (“The Social Network”) as Illya Kuryakin and Alicia Vikander (“Anna Karenina”) as Gaby Teller. How’s it differ from the series? It goes back to the beginning. “The series hadn’t really done the origin story — "U.N.C.L.E. already existed,” co-writer/producer Lionel Wigram told EW this week. “At the height of the Cold War you’ve got a Russian and an American working together. How did that come about?” Here’s the official synopsis:
Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo’s only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe.
The first trailer for the film has arrived, and you can watch it below. The movie also co-stars Elizabeth Debicki (“The Great Gatsby”) with Jared Harris (“Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows”) and Hugh Grant as Waverly. Written by Ritchie & Wigram, who previously collaborated on re-imagining the classic detective ‘Sherlock Holmes’ in two hit films, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” is due in theaters August 14. Watch the trailer and check out the new poster and several new photos as well.
