The screenwriter of Mr. & Mrs. Smith has explained why the movie never got a sequel. The 2005 action-comedy starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as married assassins who learn of one another’s professions when each is contracted to kill the other. The movie, in addition to coinciding with the beginning of the stars’ high-profile romantic relationship, was a hit at the box office, earning $487.3 million off its $110 million budget and becoming the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year at the global box office.
JoBlo recently had the opportunity to sit down with screenwriter Simon Kinberg for an interview. During their conversation, Kinberg broke down why a Mr. & Mrs. Smith sequel never materialized. He revealed that, as the original movie was about the couple rekindling their relationship, a sequel to their love story “wouldn’t actually have the arc of two people who are falling in love.” Read his full quote below:
The strength of the first movie is it’s a love story; they are, you know, falling back in love with each other or in love for the first time in a genuine way. And to tell a love story, to serialize a love story is very hard. Because no matter what you do in the second movie, sure, they could be partners and spies and bickering together, but you wouldn’t actually have the arc of two people who are falling in love.
The Future of Mr. & Mrs. Smith is About to Be Tested
While Mr. & Mrs. Smith never earned itself a sequel, it is nevertheless about to launch a franchise. Prime Video has been developing a streaming series adapting the property for quite some time. Although it has been delayed repeatedly (due to original co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge dropping out of the project and possibly the ongoing dual Hollywood strikes as actors and writers fight for fair pay) it is set to premiere in early 2024.
The Mr. & Mrs. Smith reboot will star Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as the titular assassin couple. The new project will already be testing Kinberg’s assessment by stretching the story of the movie across an entire season. If it gets renewed for season 2, it will fully reach beyond the bounds of the original and test the waters as to continuing the love story of the iconic action-hero couple.
Television may indeed prove to be fertile ground for a continuation of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith story. While serialized television does frequently utilize the “on-again-off-again” format for relationships, many small screen couples have stayed together while sustaining a variety of comedic or dramatic storylines. This includes Scrubs‘ Turk and Carla, How I Met Your Mother‘s Marshall and Lily, and Friends‘ Chandler and Monica.
