David Beckham and U.N.C.L.E.: rumor and (apparent) reality

Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer
(Art by Paul Baack)

This weekend saw the (apparent) closure of the notion that former soccer star David Beckham was auditioning to star in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie.

In June, a website called Celebrity Fix PUBLISHED A POST that said that Beckham would be “be auditioning for the lead role” in the U.N.C.L.E. movie. This was after actor Henry Cavill said he’d be playing Napoleon Solo in the film while Armie Hammer would play Illya Kuryakin. Either the Solo or Kuryakin part would qualify as “the lead” in an U.N.C.L.E. film.

On Nov. 10, a British tabloid, the Daily Mail, had A STORY saying Beckham was appearing in the movie. No details on the part.

The Daily Mail had a mixed record where accuracy is concerned. On one hand, the publication has a reputation for stealing copy from other publications without credit. On the other hand, the Mail’s Baz Bagimboye had a number of scoops about the 2012 007 film Skyfall that were proven to be correct.

Bagimboye, however, didn’t write the Mail’s U.N.C.L.E. story. Meanwhile, Celebrity Fix’s claim that Beckham was auditioning for “the lead” in the Guy Ritchie-directed U.N.C.L.E. film seems to have been disproven.

Ritchie once directed an underwear commercial with Beckham, as described in THIS STORY by the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph.

UPDATE: On Twitter, some of the Cavill-Hammer fan people raise the question whether the Daily Mail is correct about Beckham filming a scene in the U.N.C.L.E. movie or in the Matthew Vaughn-directed THE SECRET SERVICE.