‘Spy Kids’ Franchise Reimagining In Works At Netflix; Robert Rodriguez Returning To Mount Next Film For Skydance, Spyglass
Netflix has closed a deal with Skydance to produce a reimagining of the Spy Kids franchise, alongside Spyglass Media, LLC and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (We Can Be Heroes, Alita: Battle Angel), who created the film series and directed all past installments.
The next film in the franchise, introducing the world to a new family of spies, will also be written and directed by Rodriguez. It will mark his second family film for Netflix, on the heels of the 2020 actioner We Can Be Heroes. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will produce for Skydance, which is overseeing development and production, with Elizabeth Avellan and Racer Max also producing. Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre will executive produce for Spyglass, which owns the Spy Kids franchise.
Rodriguez’s original Spy Kids film, centered on kids saving their spy parents from an evil, high-tech enemy, was released 21 years ago today, with sequels Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World following in 2002, 2003 and 2011, respectively. Their core cast included Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tony Shalhoub, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Emily Osment and Matt O’Leary, among others. Films in the franchise have collectively grossed more than $550 million worldwide.
Other projects in the works from Rodriguez, who has also famously helmed such films as El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, Planet Terror, Machete, Machete Kills and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, include the action-thriller Hypnotic, with Ben Affleck, Alice Braga and more, and a contemporary series adaptation of Zorro.
In addition to Spy Kids, Skydance’s slate with Netflix includes the upcoming spy thriller Heart of Stone starring Gal Gadot; The Adam Project starring Ryan Reynolds, which quickly topped the streamer’s film charts upon its March 11 debut, and the mega-hits The Old Guard and 6 Underground. The company’s upcoming slate also includes the anticipated Top Gun: Maverick, the seventh and eighth installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise, and Peter Farrelly’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever for Apple TV+.
Spyglass is a global premium content company, led by Barber, which recently relaunched the horror franchise, Scream, starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, with the next installment heading into production this summer. Its revival of the Hellraiser horror franchise will debut on Hulu later this year.
Netflix’s expanding slate of all-audience movies also includes the upcoming fantasy adventure Slumberland, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jason Momoa; Enola Holmes 2, which will have Millie Bobby Brown reprising her role as the detective of the same name; and the fantasy pic The School for Good and Evil, starring Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington.
Rodriguez is represented by WME and attorney Craig Emanuel.
DEADLINE - by Matt Grobar