Well it would seem that Joel Edgerton’s career is blowing up right now, despite the fact that barely anyone actually saw his two most recent films, Warrior and The Thing. American audiences were first introduced to the Australian Conan O’Brien lookalike with his small role as Uncle Owen in the Star Wars prequels, but more recently he had been getting a lot of critical acclaim for his performances in Animal Kingdom and The Square. Now it looks like he may be adding a couple of potential blockbusters to his resume next year as he is currently fielding two offers from Warner Brothers: one to star in the upcoming 300 prequel, and the other to star in Steven Soderbergh’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Is Joel Edgerton the new Gerard Butler? For his sake, I sure hope not.

According to Vulture, Warner Brothers wants Edgerton for the lead role for 300: Battle of Artemisia, which is being directed by Noam Murro (Smart People). If he accepts, he would play Themosticles, the legendary general who led the Greeks to victory against the second Persian invasion in 480 BCE. Based on the trailer for Warrior, he might have the physique, but something tells me they’re going to need a lot of bronzer to make him appear Greek.

Vulture is also reporting that they want him for one of the two leads in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie, based on the ’60 spy series. With Bradley Cooper still rumoured to be mulling over the role of Napoleon Solo, Edgerton would supposedly play his Russian partner Illya Kuryakin. I guess Illya will be a ginger instead a blonde this time around? I have to admit, both of these roles seem a bit odd for Edgerton, but I like what I’ve seen of him on screen and if they further his career then so be it. What do you think, are you a fan of Joel Edgerton and would you like to see him star in either of these movies?