George Clooney back injury forced 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' exit, says writer

George Clooney was forced to pull out of director Steven Soderbergh's film adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in order to have back surgery.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. screenwriter Scott Z Burns has revealed that Clooney personally apologised for leaving the project during their recent meeting at the Venice Film Festival.

Burns told The Playlist: "George is a really fun guy and a really cool actor. I ran into George last week. He made a point of running to me and saying, 'I really, really loved your script and I just wanted to be really clear with you that I need to have back surgery and I can't do this'."

Burns continued: "I do know that [director] Steven [Soderbergh]'s plan, which he was really upfront with me about, was to shoot the action really practically, and it's going to be a really, really physically intense movie.

"I think he really enjoyed some of what he did with [his upcoming action movie] Haywire by keeping things practical and I think wants to apply that again. And from having written that character, I know that's not a thing that you would want to do if you had a bad back."

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is based on a 1960s television series which starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as international secret agents.

Clooney's next directorial effort The Ides of March opens in the US on October 7 and in the UK on October 28.

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Watch the trailer for The Ides of March below: