20 years after Mr & Mrs. Smith, Angelina Jolie is back for a reunion—but not the one you’d expect. She’s due to reunite with Mr & Mrs. Smith director, Doug Liman, on a new spy thriller called The Initiative, this time as the sole headlining star.
Not much is known about the project, which is currently the subject of an intense bidding war with Universal Pictures reportedly likely to land the project. But it does continue Jolie’s recent acting renaissance. The Oscar-winner’s onscreen appearances had been few and far between since 2010. Last year, she made a comeback from a multi-year hiatus with the Pablo Larraín biopic, Maria, in 2024. Jolie recently wrapped filming on Couture, a film set “in the frenzy of Paris Fashion Week” in which she plays an American film director whose life is upended after a breast cancer diagnosis.
According to Variety, The Initiative “looks to return Jolie to the slick action thrillers that made her a box office megastar, including Salt, The Tourist, and Wanted.” Below, here’s everything to know about The Initiative.
What is The Initiative about?
Jolie plays a “rogue master spy” named Bright in The Initiative, which The Hollywood Reporter described as “Training Day set in the world of spycraft.” When Charlie, a new agent, joins Bright’s team, he “soon finds himself in situations where he isn’t sure whether his new boss is trying to kill him or simply is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect the free world.”
Who is in The Initiative cast?
So far, Jolie is the only actor attached to The Initiative. Behind the scenes, F. Scott Frazier, an action film veteran, will write the screenplay, with Jeff Kirschenbaum set to produce. Like Liman, Kirschenbaum has a track record with Jolie—his production company, Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, was behind the actor’s 2017 Disney hit, Maleficent.
Does The Initiative have a release date?
Not yet—the project is planning to begin production in the first quarter of 2026.
