There are many, many reboots being announced all the time, and it’s easy to be skeptical of the very idea of a reboot. Sometimes, though, there comes an announcement so obvious and inspiring you can’t help but wonder how the hell it took this long for it to happen. This week it’s the announcement that Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Donald Glover will team up for a “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” TV reboot at Amazon.
The news was brilliantly announced through an amusing series of Instagram stories by Glover himself, which will disappear soon so hurry up and watch (or watch here). In a press release, Amazon confirmed the production of a TV reboot of the 2005 New Regency film, to star Waller-Bridge and Glover, who also co-created the show with Francesca Sloane (“Atlanta,” “Fargo“). Sloane will also executive produce the show and serve as the showrunner. Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer, as well as Jenny Robins, will also executive produce the show.
“Talk about the dream team! Donald and Phoebe are two of the most talented creators and performers in the world. It’s truly a dream for us, as it will be for our global audience, to have these two forces of nature collaborating as a powerhouse creative team,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, in the official press release. “‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ is an iconic property, and we can’t wait to see how Donald, Phoebe, and Francesca make it their own. We’re thrilled to be working with them, and with such great partners at New Regency.”
Amazon is describing the new series as “a new take and iteration” of the 2005 film, which starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a married couple who one day realize they’ve both been living double lives as assassins for competing firms, and they’ve been assigned to kill each other.
Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge seem like a no-brainer pairing for this project. They had incredible chemistry in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” even though Waller-Bridge played a CG-created character, and they’ve shown to be not only fantastic actors but respected and lauded creatives. If there’s a way to get people excited about a reboot of a 15-year-old movie, this is the way.
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is scheduled for release on Amazon sometime in 2022.