Spy Kids: Armageddon First Look and Release Date Revealed

Netflix has released a first look at Spy Kids: Armageddon, the reboot of the beloved franchise from filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and stars Zachary Levi (Shazam!) and Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin). The series, which debuted in 2001 with a film directed by Rodriguez and starring Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara. The premise was that a pair of kids take over for their spy parents, after the parents are out of the picture and the kids figure out that someone needs to step forward and save the day.

The film comes from Spyglass Entertainment, producers of the Scream reboot who have not just a sequel to that movie coming, but also a Hellraiser reboot coming to Hulu next year. Rodriguez, who alternates between family fare like Spy Kids and Sharkboy and Lava Girl and adult entertainment like Sin City and El Mariachi, is bringing the project to Netflix.

You can see the announcement video below.

Netflix is working with Rodriguez on this after the success of We Can Be Heroes, a follow-up to Sharkboy and Lava Girl. That project has become a huge hit for the streaming giant since its release in 2001. The original series had four installments before Rodriguez moved to Netflix, where they had an animated series before rebooting now. Last year, Rodriguez revealed he had cast Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Gina Rodrigues (Jane he Virgin) as the main kids’ parents.

“My most rabid fanbase all these years, by far, has been my kid films. My Spy Kids audience,” Rodriguez previously shared at Cinema-Con. “These kids watch those movies over and over because they’re action films made for children and families, in particular at a time when they need empowerment. Netflix came to me [for We Can Be Heroes] because the Spy Kids movies had done just so well on their service. They said ‘Could you make a series of films that do that?’ And I said, ‘I’d love to!’”

The original Spy Kids film was released over 20 years ago, and surprised moviegoers by earning $112 million at the domestic box office. The movie starred Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa PenaVega, Daryl Sabara, Alan Cumming, Tony Shalhoub, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin, and Danny Trejo. In fact, it was Spy Kids that launched Rodriguez’s hyper-violent Machete films, which saw Trejo reprising his Spy Kids character in a much different way. 

Spy Kids: Armageddon is set to hit Netflix on September 22.