Comedian John Mulaney is in early talks to play Agent Maxwell Smart in a new "Get Smart" film at Warner Bros. Pictures, according to a Wednesday report from Deadline, reviving Mel Brooks' 1960s spy-parody franchise.
TL;DR
- Mulaney, a four-time Emmy winner, is circling the lead role in a "Get Smart" reimagining at Warner Bros.
- Seth Grahame-Smith is writing the script, and no director has been attached yet.
- The project revives Mel Brooks and Buck Henry's 1965 CONTROL-versus-KAOS spy spoof, last rebooted on screen in 2008.
- That 2008 film starred Steve Carell and was rated 12A by the BBFC for its UK cinema release.
What we know about the Get Smart reboot
Details remain scarce, but several outlets reported this week that Mulaney is eyeing the role first made famous by Don Adams. Deadline broke the story, reporting the project is in early development at Warner Bros.
Seth Grahame-Smith, who previously wrote Now You See Me: Now You Don't, is penning the screenplay. Chuck Roven and Andrew Lazar, who also produced the 2008 film, are attached to produce again, according to Deadline.
No director has signed on, and the studio has not set a release date, CBR reported. Warner Bros. and representatives for Mulaney have not commented publicly, and neither has addressed the report on their official social accounts.
Why Mulaney fits Maxwell Smart
"Get Smart" followed a bumbling secret agent and his partner, Agent 99, as they defended the agency CONTROL from the criminal syndicate KAOS. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created the sitcom in 1965, and it ran 138 episodes across five seasons on NBC and then CBS.
Entertainment writers have framed the casting as a tonal shift for the franchise. Martin Cid Magazine suggested the studio is betting on deadpan timing rather than the broad slapstick that has defined recent spy comedies.
Get Smart's long history of reboots
The franchise has resurfaced repeatedly since its original run ended in 1970. A 1989 TV movie and a short-lived 1995 Fox revival both brought back original cast members, though neither matched the show's earlier popularity.
The most successful revival came in 2008, when Warner Bros. released a feature film starring actor Steve Carell as Agent 86 and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99. The film earned $230 million worldwide against an $80 million budget.
Get Smart (2008) at a glance
| Metric | Figure | Source |
| Worldwide box office | $230 million | Deadline |
| Production budget | $80 million | Wikipedia |
| UK BBFC certificate | 12A | IMDb (BBFC data) |
British audiences saw the Carell film released with a 12A certificate, meaning under-12s could attend only with an accompanying adult, according to IMDb's parental guide, which lists the BBFC's classification for the film's UK cinema run.
What's next for Mulaney
Mulaney's screen résumé includes voice work in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," plus a recurring guest role on "The Bear." He hosted Netflix's "Everybody's Live with John Mulaney" for a 12-episode run in 2025, according to Variety.
His next film role pairs him with Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale in a biopic directed by David O. Russell, set to arrive on Prime Video this November, The Playlist reported.
On stage, Mulaney recently became the first comedian to headline Chicago's Wrigley Field and has added nine New York shows to his "Mister Whatever" tour for January, CBR reported. He has also brought stand-up to London before, including a sold-out run at the capital's Apollo, according to Time Out London.
"Get Smart" joins a wider wave of studios mining decades-old comedies for new life — Screen & Story has tracked similar talk around a third "Practical Magic" film. Whether Mulaney signs on may decide if Agent 86's shoe phone rings again, or if this "Get Smart" joins the long list of reboots stuck in permanent development.
