Friends for years, Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney have worked together on several occasions, including the Ocean’s Eleven franchise, and Out of Sight costarring Jennifer Lopez, reports Deadline.
They were scheduled to work together in the film adaptation of the ‘60s TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. starring Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin, however Clooney has dropped out of the project.
The story is about two secret agents who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. – or the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.
The reasons for Clooney’s departure are unclear, and we’re waiting to hear if it’s the oft-quoted “scheduling conflict.” Warner Bros. plans to start filming in February 2012.
Clooney, 50, directed and starred in the American political drama The Ides of March along with Ryan Gosling and Rachel Evan Wood, which opens October 14. He also stars in the upcoming Alexander Payne (Sideways) drama The Descendants due out November 23 – the same day as his Muppet movie cameo.
The Syriana star is currently filming sci-fi thriller Gravity with Sandra Bullock, with a release date scheduled for November 21, 2012.