Angelina Jolie and Doug Liman Reunite for the Action-Packed Spy Thriller THE INITIATIVE
Angelina Jolie is stepping back into the high-octane world of espionage with The Initiative, a new spy thriller that sees her reuniting with Doug Liman, the director behind the fan-favorite Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Universal Pictures is currently in talks to scoop up this high-profile project, which has F. Scott Frazier (Collide, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage) on board to write the screenplay.
While the studio is keeping plot details under tight wraps, this new film is shaping up to be a slick return to the action-packed roles that made Jolie a box office powerhouse with films like Salt, The Tourist, and Wanted.
If the deal with Universal goes through, executive VP of production development Jay Polidoro and director of development Tony Ducret will be steering the project for the studio.
The Initiative is being produced by Jeff Kirschenbaum for Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, which already shares a strong creative connection with both Liman and Jolie. The production company previously backed Disney’s Maleficent franchise, where Jolie dominated the screen as the title character.
Liman’s recent streak of successful projects includes Road House for Amazon MGM Studios and the upcoming The Instigations for Apple TV+. He’s no stranger to Universal either, having directed The Bourne Identity and American Made. He’s also currently collaborating again with Tom Cruise on a groundbreaking project set to be filmed entirely in space.
As for Jolie, she continues to expand her creative empire. She recently earned acclaim for her portrayal of opera icon Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria, and she’ll soon be seen in the bilingual drama Couture by Alice Winocour, which she also produced. Her next big screen outing includes the film adaptation of Anxious People, directed by Marc Forster.
Jolie has also made her mark behind the camera with projects like First They Killed My Father, which she co-wrote and produced, the Oscar-nominated Unbroken, and her upcoming film Without Blood, starring Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir, based on the novel by Alessandro Baricco. On top of all that, she recently nabbed a Tony Award as a producer for the Broadway musical The Outsiders.