18 Years Later, John Mulaney Is The Perfect Replacement For Steve Carell In The Get Smart Franchise

Published Sep 11, 2026, 4:45 PM EDT Richard Craig is a Senior Author at Screen Rant covering film and TV. Richard has also written extensively about horror and film soundtracks, contributing a chapter to the first major academic collection on the folk horror genre, The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror. Richard is also a performing musician and holds an MA in Music and Sound Art. Sign in to your ScreenRant account John Mulaney as the new leading man is exactly what the Get Smart franchise needs nearly two decades after its last big-screen outing starring Steve Carell. Based on the classic 1965 television series created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart followed Maxwell Smart, a well-meaning but accident-prone secret agent working for CONTROL as he battled the evil organization KAOS. The original show ran for five seasons and became one of television's defining spy comedies, combining Cold War espionage spoofs with memorable running gags. Hollywood attempted to revive the property in 2008 with a feature film directed by Peter Segal and starring Steve Carell. Rather than simply recreating the television series, it modernized the concept while retaining its core dynamic: an enthusiastic intelligence analyst unexpectedly becoming a field agent and discovering he is in over his head. While Get Smart received mixed reviews, it was a significant commercial success. Produced on an $80 million budget, the film earned more than $230 million worldwide and opened at number one at the box office in North America. That success has always made it somewhat surprising that Warner Bros. never pursued a Get Smart sequel. Eighteen years later, a Get Smart reboot has been confirmed with John Mulaney stepping into Maxwell Smart's oversized shoes (via The Hollywood Reporter). Steve Carell Was Hilarious In The 2008 Get Smart The biggest reason the 2008 Get Smart worked was Steve Carell's performance. At the time, Carell was one of Hollywood's hottest comedy stars thanks to The Office, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Evan Almighty. Rather than turning Maxwell Smart into another version of Michael Scott, Carell found a specific comic rhythm that honored Don Adams' original portrayal while still feeling contemporary. His version of Smart was simultaneously intelligent and clueless. Unlike many comedy protagonists, Maxwell was not incompetent because he lacked knowledge. He actually possessed remarkable technical expertise and extensive spy training. The humor came from his complete confidence in situations where common sense should have told him otherwise. Carell excelled at physical comedy throughout Get Smart, yet he also made Smart surprisingly endearing. Audiences wanted to see him succeed, which prevented the character from becoming exhausting. Even critics who were less enthusiastic about the movie frequently praised Carell's performance, and his charm remains one of the primary reasons the film has maintained a loyal audience years after release. When Get Smart returns, John Mulaney may be the ideal choice to inherit the franchise. Like Carell, Mulaney thrives on confidence-based comedy. His stand-up persona often revolves around presenting ridiculous observations with absolute certainty, a trait that aligns perfectly with Maxwell Smart's worldview. Smart rarely realizes he is the least qualified person in the room, and Mulaney's delivery could make that disconnect consistently funny. Another advantage is Mulaney's ability to play characters who appear competent on the surface but gradually reveal increasing levels of absurdity. Maxwell Smart works best when he believes he is a world-class secret agent despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Mulaney could capture that combination of self-assurance and obliviousness without merely imitating Carell or Don Adams. Most importantly, Mulaney represents a new comedic voice. A successful Get Smart revival would need someone capable of honoring the franchise's legacy while giving it a fresh identity. Eighteen years after Steve Carell helped turn Maxwell Smart into a box-office hit, John Mulaney feels like the rare comedian with the timing, charisma, and comic instincts necessary to pull it off. Release Date June 20, 2008 Runtime 110 Minutes Director Peter Segal Writers Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, Mel Brooks Producers Alex Gartner, Andrew Lazar, Brent O'Connor, Bruce Berman, Charles Roven, Jimmy Miller, Michael Ewing, Steve Carell