Angelina Jolie is set to star in the upcoming spy thriller ‘The Initiative’, reuniting with her ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ director Doug Liman.
Universal Pictures is reportedly in talks to secure the project, with F. Scott Frazier attached to write the screenplay while plot details are being kept under wraps. Jeff Kirschenbaum is reported to be the producer for Roth/Kirschenbaum Films.
Like Liman, RK Films also shares a strong working relationship with Jolie, having backed Disney’s hit ‘Maleficent’ movies, in which she played the title role.
While story details remain under wraps, The Initiative is expected to return Jolie to the slick action thrillers that made her a box office megastar, including Salt, The Tourist and Wanted.
Should the deal with Universal close, executive VP of production development Jay Polidoro and director of development Tony Ducret will oversee the project for the studio.
Jolie, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for ‘Girl, Interrupted’, was most recently seen in Pablo Larraín’s Maria, earning praise for her portrayal of famed soprano Maria Callas.
Upcoming projects include Alice Winocour’s bilingual drama ‘Couture’, which she also produced, and a feature adaptation of ‘Anxious People’ from Marc Forster. Her directing credits include ‘First They Killed My Father’, which she also produced and co-wrote, the Oscar-nominated biopic ‘Unbroken’, and the forthcoming ‘Without Blood’, starring Salma Hayek Pinault and Demian Bichir — based on Alessandro Baricco’s novel. Jolie is also a Tony Award-winning producer for the Broadway musical ‘The Outsiders’.
Liman — who recently directed ‘Roadhouse’ for Amazon MGM Studios, a major hit, and ‘The Instigations’ on Apple TV+ — continues his collaboration with Universal, having helmed 2002’s ‘The Bourne Identity’ and 2017’s ‘American Made’ with Tom Cruise. Liman and Cruise are currently developing a film for the studio to be shot entirely in space.