Phoebe Waller-Bridge Leaves Amazon’s ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ Series
Amazon’s ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘ series appears to have had a divorce before it even begins shooting, as its announced co-lead Phoebe Waller-Bridge has departed the dramedy over the ol’ “creative differences” with co-lead Donald Glover.
The series is based on the original movie, which starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored upper middle class married couple who were surprised to learn that they are both assassins. But unfortunately, they belong to competing agencies and their latest assignments have given them orders to kill each other. Directed by Doug Liman and produced by New Regency, the film grossed $487 million worldwide during its release.
Waller-Bridge was originally signed on to star in and co-create the series alongside co-lead Donald Glover (‘Atlanta’). However, it would appear that creative partnership wasn’t working out, which has resulted in Waller-Bridge leaving the production. The breakup is being described as an “amicable split” and the pair remain friends, but had a difference in “creative vision” for the series resulting in them parting ways. The duo had previously worked together on the Star Wars movie ‘Solo’.
Francesca Sloane, who collaborated with Glover on ‘Atlanta’, will stay on as co-creator, showrunner and exec producer. Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer (New Regency), and Jenny Robins (Wells Street Films) also serve as exec producers. Waller-Bridge’s role as Mrs. Smith will be recast, and the show is still on track to land in 2022.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has had plenty to keep her busy lately, having recently worked on the script for the latest James Bond movie ‘No Time To Die’, and is currently in production in front of the camera on ‘Indiana Jones 5’. She is also involved in ‘Screenshot’, a competition series, from Olivia Colman & Ed Sinclair, for comedy writer-performers who already have a theatre project developed or semi-developed find a home for it on screen, in a similar way to Waller-Bridge’s ‘Fleabag’.
Glover is currently in post-production on the long-awaited ‘Atlanta’ Season 3 which is expected to land in 2022, and in production on Season 4, having written all the scripts himself for the season. He is also involved in ‘Hive’, a musical drama in development for Amazon from ‘Atlanta’ and ‘Watchmen’ writer Janine Nabers.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘ does not yet have an air date, but is expected to land on Amazon Prime in 2022. If you want to keep track of this, or any other show, you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
