John Mulaney may be the next actor to play Agent Maxwell Smart as Warner Bros. revisits the spy comedy Get Smart.
Currently, Mulaney is in talks for the lead role in the planned reboot, according to Variety. The project is still in its early stages, with Seth Grahame-Smith attached to write the screenplay. Andrew Lazar and Chuck Roven are set to produce.
The original Get Smart series debuted in 1965. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, it ran for 138 episodes until 1970.
Don Adams played Maxwell Smart, a CONTROL agent whose attempts to outsmart his opponents often went wrong. Barbara Feldon played Agent 99, while Edward Platt portrayed the agency’s Chief.
The series won seven Emmy Awards, including three acting awards for Adams and three for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Get Smart was previously adapted for the big screen in 2008. Steve Carell played Maxwell Smart, with Anne Hathaway as Agent 99 and Dwayne Johnson as Agent 23. Peter Segal directed the film, which earned about US$230 million worldwide against a US$80 million budget.
Mulaney has recently focused on both comedy and acting. He hosted Netflix’s Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, which ran for 12 episodes in 2025.
His next film role is in David O. Russell’s sports biopic Madden, where he plays Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts. He is also scheduled to begin his nine-show New York comedy run, Mulaney Takes Manhattan, in January.
Mulaney has previously joked about trying to land a Warner Bros. role. At the 2024 Governors Awards, he said he had auditioned for a part listed as “Young Cop” in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!
The Get Smart reboot has yet to enter production, and details about its cast and release date have not been announced.
