Robert Rodriguez, the director of the popular franchise “Spy Kids,” has expressed openness to bringing back the original stars, Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara, for another film. However, Rodriguez believes that the lengthy gap between the latest installment, “Armageddon,” and 2011’s “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World” necessitated a fresh start for the franchise.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Rodriguez discussed his decision to introduce a new family and a new set of child stars in the latest film, which is set to be released on Netflix this Friday. “I wanted to re-establish a new family,” he said. “Because it’d been so long since ‘All the Time in the World,’ it was important to just start the franchise fresh and then go from there.”
“Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World” featured PenaVega, Sabara, and an ensemble cast that included Jessica Alba, Joel McHale, Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, Ricky Gervais, and Jeremy Piven. The film followed Alba’s character, an agent of the Organization of Super Spies, who is married to McHale’s spy-hunting reporter. PenaVega and Sabara played the niece and nephew of Alba’s secret agent, and their step-siblings faced off against a villain threatening to unleash a time weapon called Project: Armageddon.
Although Rodriguez is keen on expanding the “Spy Kids” universe with a new family, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back the original leads. “I would love to bring back [the characters]. I would love to connect the worlds. That would be so fun,” he stated. He also mentioned the potential for legacy characters to return if more films are made.
Rodriguez also commented on the significance of releasing another “Spy Kids” sequel in Hollywood’s current storytelling climate. He stated, “It’s hard to make movies in Hollywood that aren’t [based on] preexisting material that a studio owns. So when you can come up with your own story and make sequels to it, man, you’re going to make as many of those as you can because it’s a rarity.”
The original “Spy Kids” film, released in 2001, starred Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as two spies who are kidnapped and must be rescued by their children, played by PenaVega and Sabara. Since then, four more films have been released, including “Armageddon,” along with an animated series titled “Spy Kids: Mission Critical.”
Fans of the beloved franchise will eagerly await news of any future installments that may include the return of PenaVega, Sabara, and other legacy characters, as Rodriguez continues to explore new avenues in the “Spy Kids” universe.