Do You Need to Watch Spy Kids 1-4 Before Spy Kids: Armageddon?

Many people grew up watching the Spy Kids films. They were fun, kid-friendly action adventures where it’s up to the kids to save the adults. Needless to say, there’s a good amount of wish fulfillment, and the original series ran for four installments, with the last one being Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, released in 2011. However, the series recently got a fresh coat of paint thanks to the newly released Spy Kids: Armageddon on Netflix. It may be a new cast, but occasional Quentin Tarantino collaborator Robert Rodriguez is back behind the camera as director. So what all do you need to know before turning on the new Spy Kids movie?

Spy Kids: Armageddon Boasts a New Cast and New Story

Spy Kids: Armageddon reboots the series, meaning you don’t have to see any other Spy Kids films to understand what’s going on. It focuses on many of the same themes as the original series, mainly in relation to the importance of family and the pitfalls of technology. This time around, a new family is at the center of the action. The titular spy kids, Tony and Patty Torrez-Tango, are played by newcomers Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla. Their parents have somewhat lengthier resumes, as they’re played by Zachary Levi from Shazam! and Gina Rodriguez from Jane the Virgin.

Spy Kids: Armageddon actually isn’t the first Spy Kids project to go straight to Netflix. A TV series, Spy Kids: Mission Critical, ran for two seasons in 2018. While it follows Juni and Carmen Cortez from the original films, it’s a completely new story, so fans can also watch that one without seeing anything prior.

Robert Rodriguez once again proves himself one of the most versatile directors working today, fluctuating back and forth between kids’ projects and more adult-oriented ones. Between Spy Kids: Armageddon and his previous kid-friendly Netflix venture We Can Be Heroes, a sequel to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, could a crossover be far behind?