Donald Glover Didn’t Get ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ Movie’s Appeal Ahead of Series: It’s Just ‘Gorgeous People’

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Donald Glover knows why “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is an “iconic” film, but beyond Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s palpable chemistry (and later marriage), the “Atlanta” creator didn’t get the appeal of the story.

The 2005 movie stars Pitt and Jolie as two spies who get married, without knowing the other is also a secret agent. Things go south once both of them are instructed to kill the other.

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Glover is reimagining the property for an eight-episode Prime Video series that he co-created with Francesca Sloane; Glover stars alongside Maya Erskine as the titular couple who are in fact two strangers assigned by their spy agency to go undercover posing as a married duo.

“I had never seen the movie, which I know was sacrilege,” Glover told Entertainment Weekly before a producer friend of his acquired the rights. “I watched it and honestly, I was like, ‘I don’t understand it.’ I mean, I get why it’s iconic because of the people starring in it — it’s just two gorgeous people in this situation. But the story I didn’t quite understand.”

Glover continued, “I called my brother [Stephen Glover] and he was like, ‘This is just a great date movie. It’s boys vs. girls. What else do you want?'”

For the Prime Video series, Glover shared his updated take on the concept of two spies stuck in a romantic relationship.

“Why do people even get married anymore? Half of it ends in divorce — what’s the purpose?” Glover said. “Let’s make a show dealing with relationships, but from this point of view, centering more on really what a marriage is and trust and teamwork and loneliness and all that stuff. I just wanted it to be something that spoke to people right now because in a time of abundance, why do we feel lonely? The movie wasn’t about that.”

The “Community” alum added, “It’s definitely going to be different for a lot of people, which I think is good. You can always go back and watch the old one, but this one gives you a different feeling. People are definitely going to be shocked. I just know how much people love the other one, so if everybody’s like, ‘Eh,’ we didn’t do a good job. I hope some people are like, ‘This is better than the original,’ and some people are like, ‘This is far worse.'”

Glover is also working with his brother Stephen for a “Lando” film in the “Star Wars” universe. Glover portrayed young Lando in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” in 2018.

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