U.N.C.L.E. movie budget cut, Variety says

Henry Cavill, right, and Armie Hammer
(Art by Paul Baack)

The budget for a movie version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was cut by Warner Bros., according to Variety, which didn’t provide any specifics.

The entertainment news site carried THIS STORY about actress Rose Byrne being in talks for a remake of Annie. There was this reference later:

Byrne is also in consideration for a role in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” but sources say the budget was cut on the film and it may have been hard to finalize a deal if an offer was presented to Byrne.

Production on U.N.C.L.E. has been reported to be gearing up in the U.K. but Warners hasn’t made an official announcement. Henry Cavill, who has said he’ll be playing Napoleon Solo in U.N.C.L.E., was at the big San Diego comic book convention last weekend, but didn’t mention U.N.C.L.E. The big Warner Bros. out of that event was the announcement of a Superman-Batman movie in 2015, with Cavill reprising his role as Superman.

Given a number of recent big-budget flops, such as The Lone Ranger (whose cast includes Armie Hammer, slated to play Illya Kuryakin) and R.I.P.D., some caution would be in order. Also, there have been executive changes at Warners. Perhaps The Man From U.N.C.L.E. curse hasn’t been lifted yet.