After originally tapping George Clooney for the role, Hulu and the 56-year-old actor/director have made a change to the cast with the signing of Kyle Chandler for the second lead role in the upcoming miniseries Catch-22.
Clooney, who was originally set to star in the lead role of Colonel Cathcart, has instead chosen to play the more supporting role of Scheisskopf, which will give him a chance to focus on his executive producing and co-directing duties on the miniseries.
Based on the satirical novel of the same name by Joseph Heller, the six-part adaptation tells the story of U.S. Air Force bomber John Yossarian (Christopher Abbott) as he becomes frustrated with his position and the fact that so many people are trying to kill him even though they don’t know him and he doesn’t know them. He is also held up by the sinister rule that if a pilot is requesting to not do their missions, they are sane and ineligible to be removed from duty, whereas those who continue to fly into danger willingly are deemed insane.
The role of Cathcart is that of a colonel who takes himself very seriously, while the character Scheisskopf, who is a training commander at cadet school, is described as ambitious, humorless, inept, angry, sadistic and obsessed with parades and winning parade tournaments.
The novel was previously adapted into a feature film directed by Mike Nichols in 1970, which wasn’t a success at the start but has since been considered a cult favorite by critics and audiences. The upcoming adaptation will be co-directed by Clooney, Grant Heslov (Argo) and Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and produced by Paramount Television, Smokehouse Pictures and Anonymous Content.
Chandler, who recently starred in the hit black comedy Game Night and is set to appear in the upcoming biographical First Man and monster sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters, was nominated for many awards for his role as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights, including winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role. He will be joining Clooney, Abbott and Hugh Laurie, who was signed on to the show at the beginning of April.
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