Donald Glover Explains ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Clash With Phoebe Waller-Bridge: “I Don’t Think It Can Have Two Captains”

Amazon’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” TV series is one of the biggest television releases of 2024, as it stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, two beloved actors. But it wasn’t always those too. When the series was originally announced, Phoebe Waller-Bridge was set to star opposite Glover. However, as it got closer to production, she left and Erskine was brought in. Now, Glover is shedding some light on what happened between them behind the scenes. 

In a new interview with THR, Donald Glover talked about the creative clash between himself and Phoebe Waller-Bridge behind the scenes while developing “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” He likened it to a “divorce,” as the two had to mutually decide it was time to split up and there was a little bit of a question about who would actually leave. But the root cause of the problem? Glover thinks it might have been a bit cultural.

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“I don’t know. It might’ve just been cultural,” he said. “You’ve got to think, ‘Fleabag’ was written entirely by her, they don’t really do writers rooms in the U.K. And I look back at ‘Atlanta,’ and we built a culture where we could say mean things to each other or be like, ‘That idea is kind of [crap],’ and then we’d laugh. You weren’t afraid to say something — but we also had the right to roast you. It’s just how we got the laughs.”

He continued, “I don’t think we ever felt comfortable enough with each other. And that’s OK. That’s what happens when you’re two captains. It’s like, ‘This is how I run my ship.’ ‘Well, this is how I run my ship.’ And it’s such a big idea, this show, I don’t think it can have two captains. I mean, she rewrote the pilot, and I saw her script and I was like, ‘It’s definitely not my style,’ but if she’d done it with her in it, we’d all be like, ‘This is a great fucking show.’”

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“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is a show about two spies who have to live together as husband and wife. The original film, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, is looked at as a silly action rom-com sort of thing. The show, on the other hand, is much more of a romance drama, with a side of spy action. 

It’s clear there is no love loss between Glover and Waller-Bridge, at least in his opinion. And you can understand how two very creative, but very different people wouldn’t necessarily gel well during the development of a TV show. Especially considering both have experienced incredible success running their own shows. 

Ultimately, it was clear that things weren’t working, but the two had to decide which one kept “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” 

“It’s like a real divorce where the hardest part is knowing when to say it’s over,” he said. “Like, when do you quit? Because you want to be cool, like, ‘Oh it’s over, that’s fine.’ But we both put a lot of work into it. We both were working really hard. So, who gets to keep the cat? (Laughs.) But I’d brought [showrunner Francesca Sloane] in, and also, I feel like Phoebe wasn’t fully in love with the thing. But I feel really good about the fact that if the thing was feeling more like hers and she was like, ‘I just love this,’ I would have been like, You should have it.’”

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Speaking of behind-the-scenes drama, Donald Glover also talked about the proposed revival of “Community,” a series that its fair share of controversy. Throughout its run, the show built a loyal fanbase, but finally ended after multiple cancellations and a very public spat between showrunner Dan Harmon and star Chevy Chase. But that hasn’t stopped Harmon from writing a new film that would bring the cast back together (minus Chevy). And according to Glover, he’s really excited by the idea.

“Yeah, [Dan Harmon] told me what he wanted, and I was like, ‘This sounds great,’” teased Glover. “It’s a college reunion, but Abed [Danny Pudi’s character] is like this big director now, and basically this is his magnum opus. I’m like, ‘This sounds fucking tight.’”

“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is available now on Prime Video.