Phoebe Waller-Bridge Exits Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith Series Following Creative Differences with Co-star Donald Glover

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Exits Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith Series Following Creative Differences with Co-star Donald Glover

English actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge has exited Amazon’s upcoming action crime show, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the television adaptation of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s hit 2005 film of the same name. Waller-Bridge left the small screen adaptation because of creative differences she had for the series with Donald Glover, with whom she was set to play the title characters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Glover originally came up with the idea for the Mr. & Mrs. Smith television show and suggested it to Waller-Bridge, with whom he previously co-starred with in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Glover, who has won Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for his other television series, FX’s comedy-drama, Atlanta, remains attached as co-creator, exec producer and star on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, following Waller-Bridge’s departure.

Francesca Sloane, who collaborates with Glover on Atlanta, is set to remain as the co-creator, showrunner and exec producer on the Mr. & Mrs. Smith show, via her overall deal with Amazon. Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer of New Regency, which served as one of the production companies on the movie, are also executive producers on the television series adaptation.

Waller-Bridge, who has garnered success in America by winning several Emmy Awards for her British comedy-drama television show, Fleabag, and Glover are said to remain friends following what was described as an amicable professional split on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Her role will now be recast as the series remains on track to debut next year. Writing on the show is currently under way, with production expected to also begin next year.

Despite leaving Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Waller-Bridge is busy with other work, as she’s currently in production on Indiana Jones 5, and recently contributed to the script of the upcoming James Bond movie, No Time to Die. She’s also executive produces the upcoming final season of the Emmy Award-winning AMC and BBC America spy thriller series, Killing Eve.

Glover is in post-production on the third season of Atlanta and is in production on the fourth season, having written all the scripts himself. The third season of the comedy is expected to return in the first half of 2022. Season four may possibly begin airing months afterward.

The Mr. & Mrs. Smith small screen adaptation was created as part of an overall deal that Glover signed with Amazon in February. Under the deal, the actor-writer-director-producer is also working on Hive, a potential show that’s rumored to revolve around a Beyoncé-like entertainer, and is being developed by scribe Janine Nabers (Watchmen, Away). The project has already begun building a writers room.

Waller-Bridge is also continuing her relationship with Amazon. She’s continuing to develop other projects for the streaming service.

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