The four Spy Kids movies are seriously underrated, being not just great children’s movies but also experimenting with VFX technology, and featuring a surprisingly star-studded cast (with Danny Trejo’s Machete along for the ride).
So it’s worth celebrating that Spy Kids is officially coming back. Deadline confirms that Netflix has closed the strongly rumored deal with Skydance and Robert Rodriguez for a “reimagining” of the franchise. The last entry was 2011’s Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, which is probably the low point of the movie series. Things improved with Netflix’s animated show Spy Kids: Mission Critical, which consisted of two seasons, both in 2018.
The new live-action entry will be directed by Rodriguez, who’s currently hot after The Book of Boba Fett on Disney Plus. No word yet on which characters from the original movies will return, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the original cast reprising their original roles as adults alongside a new team of pint-sized agents.
Netflix will be hoping this new entry matches the success of the originals. Here, Rodriguez proved a master of making a relatively small budget go a very long way. Despite each of the prior movies being made on a modest $30-40 million budget, the franchise has grossed a collective $550m worldwide.
We should get more details soon, though given Rodriguez’s previous work, expect the new Spy Kids to make heavy use of virtual sets, VFX costuming, and use new tech like The Mandalorian‘s Volume. Let’s hope we get some A-lister having the time of their life chewing the scenery as the villain too.
More on the Spy Kids revival as we hear it.
