Donald Glover is back on TV, but he’s not in Atlanta this time. Instead, he’s teaming up with Maya Erskine to play a pair of spies who are faking a marriage in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The first trailer for the Prime Video reboot arrived on Thursday, and gave us our first look at the show, and the very different tone it takes from the movie it’s inspired by.
Unlike the original movie, Glover and Erskine play strangers who sign up to be spies and get assigned marriage as a cover story. Rather than trying to kill each other, the two will solve a new case every week that tests both their espionage prowess and the limits of their new and growing relationship.
With a premise like that, you’d probably expect the series to bring in a laundry list of guest stars. And you’d be very right. The trailer gives us glimpses of a few of them, and a list of even more, including Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), John Turturro (The Big Lebowski), Parker Posey (Scream 3), Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), Eiza González (Ambulance), Sarah Paulson (Ocean’s 8), and Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman).
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a timeless idea, a gorgeous couple who also happen to be super spies/assassins. But just because it’s a great idea doesn’t mean it’s easy to pull off. The original version, which starred Brad Pitt and Aneglina Jolie, was released in 2005, arguably at the height of star power for both of them. But the movie wasn’t great. It’s got fun moments, and as a historical document of mid-2000s fame it’s undeniably fascinating, but it’s not nearly as fun, cool, or even sexy as you’d hope.
Perhaps the most confusing thing about the reboot’s trailer is that it isn’t quite any of those things either, but maybe it’s not trying to be. The first movie was a showcase for the hottest people in the world at that moment, but Glover’s new show feels a little more like it’s aiming to be a spy show about the coolest couple at your local dinner party. And that could be a fun, albeit very different, take on the concept.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is set for release on Prime Video on Feb. 2.