It was just three weeks ago that word spread that Steven Soderbergh had walked off of Warner Brothers The Man From U.N.C.L.E. over issues revolving around casting and budget. Perhaps indicative of how anxious they are to get the film underway this March, the studio has already found a replacement in the form of the new Sherlock Holmes franchise director Guy Ritchie.
Deadine is reporting that Warner Brothers is in the process of making a deal with the director and his new producing partner Lionel Wigram to take over their big screen adaption of the cult 1960s spy television series. In fact, Ritchie’s speedy attachment to the project makes me suspect that the studio may have been lining him up as a back-up plan in case of Soderbergh’s departure.
There’s no word yet if Scott Z. Burn’s screenplay will get a rewrite to suit it to whatever it is Ritchie has in mind for the film. Though rest assured, I am willing to bet that there will be lots of slow motion and speed-ramps when The Man From U.N.C.L.E. finally hits theaters in 2013. Not that I’m bagging on Ritchie. I enjoy his work and even though he is a much different filmmaker than Soderbergh, I am equally looking forward to seeing his take, while still mourning what we will be missing by not getting Soderbergh’s vision.
