Following the box office success of Mr. & Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, ABC went into development on a TV series based on the concept two years after the film was released in 2005. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were a bit too big to head to network television at the time so The Fast and the Furious star, Jordana Brewster and Martin Henderson were tapped to take on the roles that Jolie and Pitt played in the film and they brought with them the same behind-the-scenes creative team of the movie, consisting of director Doug Liman and writer Simon Kinberg. All signs pointed to this high-profile pilot going to series but, while the pilot was produced, ABC ultimately passed on it.
During a chat on "Collider Ladies Night", while promoting Fast 9, Brewster reflected on the failure of the pilot going to series and what that meant to her at the time as a young actress:
“I don’t think it’s ever a matter of brushing it off and moving on to the next pilot. The only thing that helped me be more sane in the industry was going to school because then I had something that kept me super, super busy and super focused and it was like they complimented each other perfectly. But it not getting picked up crushed me because it was like, we had all the elements.”
The pilot was set to follow in the footsteps of the hit movie by picking up six months after the events of the film, with Jane and John Smith’s relationship being put to the test yet again. Writer Simon Kinberg described the television series as "Married… with Children with guns" and when the pilot was announced, there was a lot of hype surrounding it, mostly because the film was so successful and the creative minds behind the movie were attached, adding a bit of credibility to the project. Even though Brewster was disappointed that the pilot didn't move forward, she admits that she was in a different phase of her career and needed a reality check when it came to delivering her best work:
“We had all the elements for success and yet ABC didn’t pick it up. And I think it was the tone that was wrong. I think also I was in a phase of my career where – I now go to class every week, I now have an acting coach that I will defer to for everything. I will work on something endlessly. I think back then, I was probably like 24, 25 so I was like, ‘I have this whole thing figured out.’ Actually I think that was an important road bump because it taught me, ‘Girl, you’ve gotta get to work. You don’t have it all figured out.’ And so it was a nice kick in the ass I think, ultimately.”
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, released in 2005, was directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored upper-middle-class married couple surprised to learn that they are assassins belonging to competing agencies and that they have been assigned to kill each other. The film earned a 60% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes but it was an even bigger hit with moviegoers, grossing $186.3 million domestically and $478.2 million worldwide. A lot of the reason for the film's success was that it established Pitt and Jolie's personal relationship as there was much speculation about whether or not the duo hooked up during filming while Pitt was still with Jennifer Aniston. Ultimately Pitt and Jolie did get together, adopted and had a few kids, divorced, and pretty much dashed any hopes for a sequel in the process.
As for the ABC pilot, I was able to find it on YouTube when can be seen below. Having viewed some of it, I can see why ABC passed on it. Jordana Brewster and Martin Henderson are fine but it's the combustible chemistry of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie that made the film work and that was lacking a bit here. Still interesting to look back on though.
Do YOU think the Mr. & Mrs. Smith pilot should've moved forward?