Tom Cruise Drops Project: "Oblivion" Star Leaves “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” to focus on "Mission: Impossible 5"

Tom Cruise will no longer star as the lead in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”, according to Deadline.com. The “Oblivion” star will step down because of scheduling conflicts with the fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible series, “Mission: Impossible 5.”

Cruise wants to focus on both producing and starring in the movie.

“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” is supposed to be a remake of the 1960s television series. The show had a four year run from 1964-1968. The characters of “Napoleon Solo” and “Illya Kuryakin” were played by Robert Vaughan and David McCallum respectively.

Solo and Kuryakin worked as agents for the United Network Command for Law Enforcement, using their high tech gadgets to stop their enemies from Thrush.

Warner Bros was extremely encouraged by the prospect of the show since George Clooney was set to take the lead role. However, after Clooney was required to go for back surgery, he had to drop out of the role. He would not have been physically able to handle the role. Steven Soderbergh was supposed to direct Clooney in the lead role. He also recently dropped out.

Warner Bros has not given up hope. The company has gotten Guy Ritchie and his producing partner Lionel Wigram. If Cruise had stayed on as lead, his co-star would have been Archie Hammer. Hammer will play the role of Illya Kuryakin.

M:I5 is expected to be released in 2015 according to IMDb.com. While that might make people question why Cruise doesn’t fit the remake into his schedule since M:I5 is two years away, the actor wants all his attention into this latest installment. With all the stunts he performed in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”, he can expect the same and even more. Therefore he’ll want to be as focused as possible.

Cruise’s exit has not put him at odds with Warner Bros. He is starring in the company’s movie “All You Need Is Kill” along will Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton. It is set to hit theaters June 6, 2014.

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