Guy Ritchie takes over directing duties on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

With Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows done and all but out the door, Guy Ritchie appears to be lining up his next Warner Brothers gig already. Deadline reports that Ritchie is set take over the directing reigns on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., their planned adaptation of the 1960s spy series that starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum.  The project has a script by Scott Z. Burns(Contagion) and was to be the next film for Steven Soderbergh before he left over budget and casting disputes.

For Ritchie, this keeps him firmly under the WB umbrella after having a number of other potential films stall out or vanish altogether(like his Excalibur flick). For the studio, it's a lateral move. They get a director with equal or greater name recognition to sell the film, which on it's own isn't exactly a household name. Quality-wise, Ritchie is a step down from the quick and efficient Soderbergh, who has a rapport working with his Burns' scripts. Call it a hunch, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a total rewrite now to make it more in tune with Ritchie's chaotic style.

Now the question is who will star? George Clooney was there initially but had to drop out due to physical limitations. Matt Damon, Channing Tatum, Joel Kinnaman, and a host of others have been mentioned for the lead roles of American spy Napoleon Solo and his Russian counterpart Illya Kuryakin.