No matter how good it turns out to be, Prime Video’s episodic reboot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith will never manage to capture the public’s imagination for one reason above all.
We are of course referring to the entirely average and massively successful action blockbuster’s status as a headline-grabbing sensation, which had nothing to do with anything that unfolded onscreen. Instead, there’s an entire generation out there who will never forget the media frenzy surrounding stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, especially when the former was still married to Jennifer Aniston when the movie shot.
Even then, attempts to mount a reinvention of the property have been dragging on and on for a decade and a half at this point, with Martin Henderson and Jordana Brewster starring in a failed pilot that wasn’t ordered to series back in 2007, but that doesn’t mean anyone was willing to give up.
The version that’s on its way to streaming still managed to recruit and then lose Phoebe Waller-Bridge as star and executive producer, with Maya Erskine stepping in to lead the line alongside Donald Glover, who did at least remain on board in both on and off-camera capacities.
Having previously announced a November release window, though, Mr. & Mrs. Smith has been delayed once again, with the strikes being named as the reason why it’s now been shunted back into 2024. Having spent so long trying to scratch and claw its way out of development hell, then another few months is merely a drop in the ocean for a show that’s been trying to will itself into existence for nearly 17 years.