Angelina Jolie Will Team Up With Brad Pitt For By The Sea

There have been rumblings of Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt making a movie together for some time now, and today those rumors finally hardened up into something concrete. For the first time since the sizzling spy action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the pair will share the screen in By the Sea, an intimate, character-driven drama which Jolie penned and will also direct as her follow-up to this winter’s WWII survival tale Unbroken.

Universal is the lucky studio to have snapped up By the Sea, which Jolie and Pitt will also both produce. Here’s the official press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, July 18, 2014—Universal Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Angelina Jolie’s next film project, By The Sea, written and to be directed by Jolie, it was announced today by Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Pictures.

The intimate, character-driven drama stars Jolie and Brad Pitt. Jolie and Pitt will also produce the project.

Jolie is currently in post-production on Unbroken, an epic drama directed and produced by Jolie based on the true story of Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini and adapted from author Laura Hillenbrand’s bestseller. Universal will release Unbroken on Christmas Day, 2014.

Jolie made her feature directorial debut on In the Land of Blood and Honey, a love story set against the Bosnian War, which received a Golden Globe nomination.

Angelina Jolie commented, “I am very happy to continue my relationship with Donna and the entire Universal team as I finish Unbroken and begin work on By The Sea. They have created a very special place for storytellers, and I look forward to the continued passion and support they have provided to me as a filmmaker.”

“Angelina continues to showcase her extraordinary storytelling abilities in front of and behind the camera and we are thrilled to extend our relationship with her on By the Sea,” said Langley. “Angelina and Brad represent two of Hollywood’s brightest talents and we are excited to be a part of their collaboration on this powerful piece.”

Jolie is represented by UTA and Sloan Offer Weber and Dern. Pitt is represented by CAA.

It’s very exciting to see Pitt and Jolie finally team up – and that it’s a project so seemingly different from Mr. & Mrs. Smith makes me even more intrigued. Whether the pair’s off-screen romance will again translate to major on-screen sparks remains to be seen, but if their combined talents are any indication, By the Sea is definitely one to watch.