Donald Glover Has A New TV Series
Donald Glover has signed on for a new series on Amazon. This one is a remake of a famous movie about a couple with some interesting secrets
Donald Glover has had one of the more interesting careers around. He’s expanded well beyond his initial breakout role in Community and into both the big screen as well as a foray into the musical realm as well. Plus he’s kept it strong on the small screen as well. The guy is just an incredible talent who’s also very careful about choosing his roles and projects. The latest news is exciting with word that Glover will team up with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) for a remake of Mr. & Mrs. Smith as a television series on Amazon.
It stands to reason that Donald Glover will take on the titular Mr. Smith role with Waller-Bridge playing his wife in the remake. The story, in its original form, is a funny one. The couple has, from the outside, a standard suburban vanilla life replete with all of the mundanity that comes along with it. Their marriage is propped up on routine and there’s a sense that most of it is just window-dressing for something else. In this case, that is because both are trained assassins BUT neither of them knows about each other’s side gigs. It’s a fantastic concept with a heavy comedic element and definitely something both Glover and Waller-Bridge can lean into here.
In fact, here’s Donald Glover announcing his casting via his Instagram account;
Along with Donald Glover and Waller-Bridge being cast in the leading roles, Francesca Sloane has been tapped as the show runner. This will be her first foray in the big chair having worked previously on Fargo and Netflix’s miniseries Seven Seconds.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the movie, starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as the titular couple. It *only* scored 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, though that feels criminally low considering how entertaining both leads were and how well the film has held up over time. It was a monster at the box office though, making about $490 million on its $110 million budget. There’s reason to suspect Donald Glover can bring the same devil-may-care attitude Pitt had in the original with his own spin on the character as well.
For Donald Glover, this announcement starts what could be a huge year for the actor. For starters, the critically acclaimed FX hit Atlanta is set to release sometime this year despite pandemic-related delays in production. Glover has Emmy Awards nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for each of the first two seasons.
Additionally, there are consistent rumors that Donald Glover will also get back into the Star Wars universe with the plans around a Lando Calrissian show as part of the expansion of franchise programming on Disney+. Those rumors haven’t been confirmed, but Glover did play the character to much acclaim in 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story.
What a Mr. & Mrs. Smith television series means for Donald Glover being able to take additional roles remains to be seen. But there’s reason to suspect this new show is excellent. If they can combine the comedic element with the frenetic energy of the original film then they might have a hit on their hands. And we already know that Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridges are among the best talents in the game right now.
