The Initiative: Angelina Jolie reunites with Mr & Mrs smith director for spy thriller
Angelina Jolie’s next big career move has been revealed as the Oscar-winning actress prepares to become the latest A-lister to step away from Hollywood life.
The 50-year-old Maria star is set to reunite with Mr & Mrs Smith director Doug Liman for a new spy thriller titled The Initiative, with a screenplay by F. Scott Frazier, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jolie will play Bright, a rogue master spy at the centre of a tense story described as “Training Day set in the world of spycraft.” The plot follows a rookie agent named Charlie, who joins Bright’s team only to question whether his new boss is trying to kill him or simply doing whatever it takes to protect the free world.
The film marks the first time Jolie and Liman have worked together since the 2005 action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, where she famously met her then-husband Brad Pitt. Universal Pictures won a competitive bidding war for the project, with filming expected to begin in early 2026.
The role signals a return to the high-octane action genre that made Jolie a box-office powerhouse in hits like Salt, Wanted, and The Tourist. Her last major action project was Marvel’s Eternals in 2021, while 2024 saw her portray opera legend Maria Callas in the biopic Maria.
The announcement comes amid reports that Jolie is preparing to sell her historic Los Angeles home and relocate overseas once her youngest children, twins Knox and Vivienne, turn 18 next year.
Sources told People that the actress has been “eyeing several locations abroad” and “will be very happy when she’s able to leave Los Angeles.”
Jolie, who shares six children with Brad Pitt, Maddox, 24; Pax, 21; Zahara, 20; Shiloh, 19; and the twins, 16, has reportedly never wanted to live in LA full-time.
However, her long-running custody arrangement kept her in the city until the ex-couple’s divorce settlement was finalised in December 2024 after eight years of legal battles.