The beloved spy family is coming back, and this time they’re infiltrating Netflix! The streaming service is partnering with the original creator behind the original Spy Kids film series, Robert Rodriguez, to relaunch the property for an all-new audience! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has officially announced the reboot; it had previously been rumored in 2021.
Rodriguez is credited with writing, directing, and producing the upcoming film reboot as he did with the previous films. The film will be produced alongside Spyglass Media, which owns the rights to the Spy Kids franchise—credited as producers are David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger from Skydance Media and joining them also as producers will be Elizabeth Avellan and Racer Max. Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre will be credited as executive producers.
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Remember Spy Kids?
Spy Kids 3
Spy Kids is one of those unique labors of love when it comes to filmmaking. The series began in 2001, with the release of the first Spy Kids movie. The film followed siblings Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) as they discover not only are their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are spies for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) but they’ve been kidnapped! Now the kids must dawn the gadgets and head off on their first mission, saving their family! In an interview with Creative Screenwriting, Rodriguez stated that the film was initially conceived from a desire to create a film that was similar to a short film he made in 1991 titled Bedhead, which was a family-comedy-fantasy.
Spy Kids was produced with a $35 million budget and earned $147.9 million at the box office, a smash hit! The film currently holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for Best Fantasy Film at the 28th Saturn Awards, losing to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Naturally, with the success of the first film, Rodriguez started on the second installment, 2002’s Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams. The film followed the siblings again as they travel to a mysterious island full of strange monsters and encounter rival spy kids! In an interview with scifi.com, Rodriguez stated that the inspiration for the sequel came from the Ray Harryhausen films that he enjoyed watching as a child.
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams was shot on a $38 million budget and came home with $119.7 million at the box office, another success! Lightning managed to strike twice for Rodriguez, and he was ready for round three with 2003’s Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. The film followed Juni, now a retired OSS agent, on a mission to save Carmen from being trapped in a virtual reality game. This film utilized the novelty of 3D technology and was shot almost entirely in front of a green screen. The film was created again on a $38 million budget and managed to come home with $197 million at the box office!
While Game Over was meant to be the final film in the series, it was followed up nearly a decade later with 2011’s Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. This film follows a new team of children but featured an older Carmen and Juni (with Vega and Sabara reprising their roles). The film was made with a modest $27 million budget but managed to successfully pull $85.6 million at the box office. In 2018, Netflix made their first round with the Spy Kids franchise in the computer-animated series Spy Kids: Mission Critical, which followed a new team of junior spy kids. The series had a two-season run.
As of now, details on the upcoming Spy Kids reboot are kept well under wraps. It’s unclear if we’ll see the return of familiar faces or if this will be a fresh start with an all-new cast of characters. But one thing is for sure, as with all the previous films, the script will focus on the importance of family.
