Cavill Rumored to Replace Cruise in ‘U.N.C.L.E.’

As we reported last week, Tom Cruise has dropped out of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. due to scheduling issues with Mission: Impossible 5, only the latest of a string of pre-production woes. Channing Tatum, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, and Joel Kinnaman have all been linked to the role as potential alternates, but a new name is swirling through the rumor mill today: Henry Cavill, star of the forthcoming Man of Steel.

The choice would certainly make sense from a publicity standpoint. Man of Steel is one of the biggest films of the summer; a hit could launch Cavill, who was previously best known for his role on The Tudors, into the same ring as some of the aforementioned leading men. In fact, that may be the only real knock against Cavill at this point. Cruise isn’t the surefire hit he may once have been, but both he and the actor who preceded him in the role, George Clooney, are much more household names than Cavill. Cooper, Tatum, and Gosling likely have the recognition edge on Cavill as well.

That said, Cavill and Armie Hammer, who co-stars with Johnny Depp in this summer’s The Lone Ranger and is already attached to U.N.C.L.E., could make a compelling leading team. Both are up and coming leading men with some major films under their belt (Hammer also played the Winkelvoss twins in David Fincher’s The Social Network).

At any rate, with Guy Ritchie in practice directing buddy action films (the Robert Downey, Jr./Jude Law Sherlock Holmes movies), the future looks bright for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. looks bright. Provided, of course, it ever makes it into production.