Director Robert Rodriguez is once again mining his own filmography for the value of nostalgia, and has closed a deal with Netflix to write and direct a new take on his classic 2001 family adventure Spy Kids. This is familiar territory for Rodriguez, and very similar to the same move he pulled with 2020’s We Can Be Heroes for Netflix, which was a belated follow-up to 2005’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. Whereas that film was more or less a sequel set in the same universe, however, the Spy Kids project feels more like a traditional style of remake, rather than the currently popular trend of “legacy sequel.” We would theorize this would mean the original cast from the 2001 film would not be returning, aside from possible cameos.
According to The Wrap, Netflix made its deal with Spyglass, which owns the Spy Kids franchise, and Skydance, which will oversee development and production. The original film already had three sequels, which were all directed by Rodriguez, and featured original stars Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara. Together, entries in that series collectively gross more than $550 million at the worldwide box office. This new remake will take the franchise to the streaming world, however, where they’ll fit right in alongside the current fervor for 1990s and 2000s nostalgia that is so popular among millennial audiences.
The 2000s “Spy Kids” will be remade for today’s audiences by Netflix, Variety reports on Thursday (31/3/2022).
This action-adventure franchise about a family of super-secret agents, does not yet have a title and a premiere date. However, Robert Rodriguez who created the original “Spy Kids” will return for the upcoming reboot and serve as both writer and director. Details of the story haven’t been revealed yet, but the next generation of “Spy Kids” will revolve around multicultural family activities.
The original “Spy Kids” centers on Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara), two young children who don’t realize that their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) work for the Super Spies Organization. Eventually, the Cortez children joined the family’s espionage business. The cast for the upcoming reboot has yet to be announced.
The first film was popular with audiences young and old alike, grossing $147 million at the global box office in 2001. The film spawned three theatrical sequels namely “The Island of Lost Dreams” (2002), “Game Over” (2003) and ” All the Time in the World” (2011).
Collectively, the franchises have grossed over $550 million worldwide. In addition to “Spy Kids”, Rodriguez has directed “Alita: Battle Angel”, “The Faculty”, “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl” and “Planet Terror”. . The next “Spy Kids” film will mark Rodriguez’s second family film with Netflix after 2020’s “We Can Be Heroes”.
David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger will produce for Skydance, overseeing development and production. Elizabeth Avellan and Racer Max will also produce. Spyglass co-founders Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre will executive produce.
Skydance, producer of “Top Gun” and the “Mission: Impossible” films, has previously worked with Netflix on “The Old Guard”, “6 Underground” and “The Adam Project” starring Ryan Reynolds. Subsequently, the company collaborated on the espionage thriller “Heart of Stone” with Gal Gadot.