Get ready then – should this thing make it from the lofty hills of Rumour Mountain to the echoing halls of development hell – for Mr And Mrs Jones. A mere five years after the first stab, and the studio is already trying again?

It won’t play as a sequel to the original, but will instead rewind for another origin story, this time focused on a pair of spies fresh out of the academy that are teamed up as a fake married couple. No other details were let loose, so we’re going to have to assume they initially hate each other before teaming up to foil some dastardly plot.

Hiring new faces mean the costs can be saved to make things go 'splodey and, we're sure the producers are hoping, launch some new stars and a fresh franchise, as with Paramount's Star Trek. Or just launch an actual franchise, since the Smiths only managed one film.

Akiva Goldsman, who helped shepherd the troubled-yet-ultimately-successful original into cinemas, is attached again. You may begin worrying… now.

/Empire Online/