Armageddon’ Debuts At No 2 On Netflix

It has been more than two decades since the first Spy Kids movie hit theaters, but Robert Rodriguez, the creative force behind the franchise, had long pondered the idea of breathing new life into the series about kids turned spies out to save the world for a new generation of young fans. That idea came to fruition with Spy Kids: Armageddon. He says the timing felt just right.

“I’ve been talking to so many parents that grew up with the film and now have kids of their own. It’s been 20 years. What a perfect time to bring it back… It’s a fun legacy moment for them to be able to watch this with their kids,” says Rodriguez.

The action comedy family friendly film is the first in the series to premiere on a streaming service, where it got off to a strong start. It debuted at No. 2 on Netflix’s U.S. and global top 10 lists, with more than 11 million hours viewed over four days.

Spy Kids: Armageddon is the fifth film installment, following Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) and Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011). There’s also a two-season animated series Spy Kids: Mission Critical, released by Netflix in 2018.

Spy Kids is also a family affair for Rodriguez himself. His own children, who were raised amidst the whirlwind of film sets and even took part in some of his productions, have now become integral members of his creative and production team.

“They started off as stunt kids in the first movies, acting in them and now…. they’re my full-blown collaborators, my composer, my co-writer, my video game designer and set designer. My daughter created all the drawings and this emoji (pointing to an emoji-filled gadget featured in the film) and sings the title song. Another child is my co-editor,” Rodriguez beamed with paternal pride.

For Rodriguez, the family dynamic is key and plays a big role – not just in the Spy Kids series. It’s part of his legacy.

“This series is unique in that there’s no other movie series in Hollywood that is made by a family for other families.” But in addition, he points out: “We’re making movies based on our life together as a family. The harder we work, the more family time we spend together. And this is a series we created, this is our own series. It’s like our James Bond series.”

Since the debut of his low-budget, creative and entertaining first commercial film El Mariachi in 1992, Rodriguez has tackled a wide range of genres, from action, drama and horror to sci-fi, including 2019’s Alita: Battle Angel. But he really enjoys doing films for kids, like the Spy Kids series, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005) and sequel We Can Be Heroes (2020).

“It’s something that you can put all of your imagination into. If you have the craziest, silliest idea, it can go in a movie like this. I’m always making jokes with my family and them with me. And if we come up with something really funny, we can put it in the movie,” he says.

And family experiences do show up in his films, including the names of the children’s characters in Spy Kids: Armageddon and a detail from his childhood in one of the scenes.

“Like my sister’s name is Patty. My nickname was Tony growing up because my middle name is Anthony. So it’s based on our relationship, because we’re really close in age. We used to make a map of the creaks in the hallway,” he recalls with a smile.

For the director, the Spy Kids franchise was born out of a family’s shared vision and crafted with love. And he looks forward to keeping it alive with new sequels.

“I would love to do more because it’s the best way to work… with my family.”