'Spy Kids: Armageddon' Introduces New Generation of Spies in First Look at Netflix Reboot (Exclusive)

Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi play married spies whose kids must save the day in Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids: Armageddon," on Netflix Sept. 22

Spy Kids is back!

PEOPLE has the exclusive first-look photos and release date for director Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids: Armageddon, rebooting the popular family franchise with brand-new characters.

In the teaser for the Netflix film, new young stars Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla play siblings who discover their parents' (Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi) secret spy hideout. Their mother then appears via a hologram recording to let them know that "something has gone terribly wrong."

Much like the original Spy Kids movie, the duo find themselves tasked with saving their parents after a failed mission and take up the espionage mantle themselves. They set out on an adventure, complete with spy planes, gadgets and the franchise's trademark black jumpsuits and sunglasses.

"When the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful Game Developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, they must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world," reads an official logline for the movie.

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Related: Alexa PenaVega Says Her Kids 'Don't Like' 'Spy Kids', Think She 'Should Have Been Lavagirl'

Asked whether the new film will connect to the originals, Rodriguez, who began working with Netflix for his 2020 family-friendly superhero movie We Can Be Heroes, tells PEOPLE, "That's top secret."

But he does promise that much of Armageddon "rings more true now than it did 20 years ago."

"We have a really fun new cast, Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi are so wonderful together, and our new Spy Kids Connor and Everly are simply magical," says Rodriguez, 55. "They are super talented, and very fun to watch."

As for what keeps bringing him back to the Spy Kids franchise, the filmmaker says, "I’ve just heard from so many families how much they’ve enjoyed these films over the course of their lives. And now a lot of kids who enjoyed the first films as children are parents themselves and enjoy sharing them with their kids."

"And personally, this series was based on my growing up in a family of 10 kids with an FBI special-agent uncle," Rodriguez shares. "These films were created by my family and me so, in a way, this is our James Bond series of films. We would just love to make them forever. They're empowering for kids, and a bonding experience for families."

Related: Spy Kids Director Reveals He Fought Studio to Feature a Latin Family: 'They Are American'

Rodriguez previously wrote and directed the four original Spy Kids films, which followed Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara) as the children of two Organization of Super Spies agents, played by Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino.

The series' first three movies were released between 2001 and 2003, while a fourth film, All the Time in the World, was released in 2011.

A number of high-profile actors — including Rodriguez's frequent collaborator Danny Trejo, Alan Cummings, Steve Buscemi, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvester Stallone, George Clooney and Jessica Alba — all made appearances throughout the original film series.

PEOPLE confirmed a Spy Kids reboot was in development back in January 2021. Rodriguez collaborated with his son Racer Max on the film's script.

"Racer is my most valued collaborator; he knows what I like, having worked together since he could crawl, so our ideas mesh well," the director says. "And he's so hardworking — he runs circles around me, just like he did as a kid. I named him appropriately."

Spy Kids: Armageddon is on Netflix Sept. 22.

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