Los Angeles - Tom Cruise has dropped out of Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The 50-year-old actor is reportedly no longer involved in Guy Ritchie's big screen adaptation of the 60s secret agent TV series as he wants to focus on producing and starring in Mission: Impossible 5, Deadline.com reports.
Cruise was rumoured to be playing spy Napoleon Solo alongside Arnie Hammer as Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin - who both work for the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) - and Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.
Plot being kept quiet
Cruise's departure means Warner Bros producers Lionel Wigram and John Davis must find a replacement for the feature, which was initially planned for Side Effects filmmaker Steven Soderbergh to direct with George Clooney starring.
Mission: Impossible 5 is set to be penned by Iron Man 3 screenwriter Drew Pearce, with Christophe McQuarrie in negotiations to return to direct and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot productions will lend a helping hand to Cruise.
All that is known about the film is Cruise will reprise his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt, but the plot is being kept quiet.
The action franchise first hit screens in 1996 has grossed more than $2 billion overall since its original release.
The fourth film in the series, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, earned $700m worldwide and became action veteran Cruise's highest-earning film ever.
The 50-year-old actor is reportedly no longer involved in Guy Ritchie's big screen adaptation of the 60s secret agent TV series as he wants to focus on producing and starring in Mission: Impossible 5, Deadline.com reports.
Cruise was rumoured to be playing spy Napoleon Solo alongside Arnie Hammer as Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin - who both work for the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) - and Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.
Plot being kept quiet
Cruise's departure means Warner Bros producers Lionel Wigram and John Davis must find a replacement for the feature, which was initially planned for Side Effects filmmaker Steven Soderbergh to direct with George Clooney starring.
Mission: Impossible 5 is set to be penned by Iron Man 3 screenwriter Drew Pearce, with Christophe McQuarrie in negotiations to return to direct and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot productions will lend a helping hand to Cruise.
All that is known about the film is Cruise will reprise his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt, but the plot is being kept quiet.
The action franchise first hit screens in 1996 has grossed more than $2 billion overall since its original release.
The fourth film in the series, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, earned $700m worldwide and became action veteran Cruise's highest-earning film ever.