John Mulaney in Talks to Star in Reboot of Classic NBC Show You Should Know
Comedian John Mulaney may have found his next gig, and it won’t feature Mulaney alone on stage rattling off jokes to a theatre full of people.
Instead, Mulaney is considering a jump to the big screen.
Deadline reports that Mulaney is in talks to revive a legendary comedic role from a timeless classic, saying the comic “is eyeing” the lead role of Agent Maxwell Smart in a Get Smart movie that Warner Bros. is currently piecing together.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t‘s Seth Grahame-Smith is reportedly working on the screenplay, with Chuck Roven and Andrew Lazar attached as producers.
Warner Bros. is backing the newest rendition of Get Smart, which originally aired nearly 150 episodes on television between 1965 and 1970. The show spawned a spinoff, Get Smart, Again! in 1989, a brief series reboot in 1995, and a featured film in 2008. The big-screen version of Get Smart starred Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. That 2008 movie brought in more than $230 million worldwide at the box office, but a sequel never materialized.
Mulaney, 44, has movie experience, though it’s mostly been as a voice actor. Among his film voice roles are roles in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. He’ll also appear in the yet-to-be-released Madden, which stars Nicolas Cage and is slated to hit Prime Video in November.
Beyond film, Mulaney has been a regular on TV, including writing for nearly 100 episodes of Saturday Night Live (and returning to host several times) and appearing in four episodes of The Bear. He also starred in a short-lived Fox sitcom simply titled Mulaney.
Other than SNL, Mulaney is best known for his stand-up comedy. He’s released seven specials, including five on Netflix and two on Comedy Central. Mulaney is also the first comedian to headline Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
