Rejoice, children of the 2000s, Spy Kids is coming back! Off the back of his successful 2020 superhero movie We Can Be Heroes, Robert Rodriguez is returning to his most-loved family-friendly franchise to helm a fifth installment in the long-dormant saga about adolescent secret agents. Just as WCBH was a Netflix production, Rodriguez is once again partnering with the streamer for this Spy Kids reboot, alongside both Skydance Media and Spyglass Entertainment.
And the project has already found its spy family. As revealed by Deadline, Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Zachary Levi (Shazam!) have boarded the movie in the parental roles with young stars Everly Carganilla (The Afterparty) and newcomer Connor Esterson as their on-screen children. Just as he has done with all previous four installments in the series, Robert Rodriguez will once again write, direct, and produce. Racer Max is on co-writing duties.
According to the official logline, the untitled fifth Spy Kids flick will see “the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, leading them to become spies themselves to save their parents and the world.”
The original Spy Kids trilogy — comprising 2001’s first film, 2002’s The Island of Lost Dreams, and 2003’s Game Over — featured Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, and Danny Trejo (who later reprised his character in the R-rated Machete movies). 2011’s Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, meanwhile, starred Jessica Alba and Joel McHale. Animated spinoff series, Spy Kids: Mission Critical, aired for two seasons in 2018.
We Can Be Heroes somewhat established a shared Rodriguezverse, including crossovers with Sharkboy and Lavagirl and bringing back Christopher McDonald as the President from Spy Kids 2. So it’s possible Spy Kids 5 will double down on this concept, especially if Netflix is looking to spawn several spinoffs, which seems likely.
