There are overprotective moms, and then there are overprotective moms with international superspy training and the gadgets to support it. And that’s exactly the kind of mom Nora Torrez, played by Gina Rodriguez, is. Nora struggles with whether to tell her children that she and their father are spies — until she has no choice. Director Robert Rodriguez (no relation) told Tudum: “Gina and I have wanted to work together for over a decade, so this was something we’ve been looking forward to.” In fact, the director added that she brought her own surprise guest star with her to set. “When I first called Gina about the role, [I] warned her that this movie would give her baby fever. Turns out she was two weeks pregnant when we spoke and didn’t know it! She found out like the next week. So she was pregnant the whole shoot. It’s going to be so special when her son is older and can appreciate that she’s carrying him on-screen during all the sword fighting and action. It was magical.”

Jane the Virgin, Big Mouth, Miss Bala, Deepwater Horizon

Screen time for kids is a hot topic these days, and one that Terrence Tango, played by Zachary Levi, feels strongly about. He keeps his son and daughter’s tablets under lock and key. And, given that he’s half of a super-sophisticated spy team with his wife, Nora, that lock-and-key setup is pretty advanced. Terrence wants to protect his kids not only from tech neck and an over-reliance on technology, but also from his true profession as a spy. Director Rodriguez said he loved the chemistry between Levi and Gina Rodriguez, making them a perfect combination as spy parents. “Everyone on set kept asking when I was going to do a spinoff movie with the two of them, that’s how fun and exciting they were together,” the filmmaker said. “They bring such a romantic and comedic feel to the roles, yet they come off as genuine parents to these children that care about the family as a whole, which is always the goal. I always want all these very different actors to feel like they’re an actual family.”

Chuck, Shazam!, Tangled, Thor: The Dark World

Patty Tango-Torrez, played by Everly Carganilla, is the moral compass of the brother-sister team at the heart of Spy Kids: Armageddon. She’ll leap, sure, but she’s looking first. When she and her brother realize that they have to save their parents (and the world, no big deal), she throws herself into training, and shows that she’s the cool-headed problem-solver of the duo. Carganilla was just 8 years old when cast in the movie, as was Connor Esterson, who plays her on-screen brother, Tony. “Everly’s dad sent me the coolest hidden video he filmed of Everly finding out she won the role of Patty,” Rodriguez told Tudum. “She was jumping up and down, crying, laughing. It was so heartwarming to see, because you realize that for kids this is the equivalent of an adult being cast as Bond.”

Yes Day, The Afterparty

Show Tony Tango-Torrez a rule, and he’ll show you a loophole he can sneak through. Played by newcomer Connor Esterson, the second half of the sibling duo brings plenty of shenanigans and sly tricks to the plot. With a “what could go wrong?” attitude (plenty, as it turns out, seeing as Tony’s determination to play a video game his dad has locked away unleashes a potentially world-ending tech virus, oops), Tony is the giddy risk-taker of the two siblings. While casting, Rodriguez said that as a director he looks for “kids that are sharp, attentive, can convey the emotions and that have a real sense of humor. It’s a really tall order, but it makes casting easier in a way, because usually there will only be a few special, talented kids out of hundreds that hit that.” Rodriguez said that he “hit a jackpot” with Esterson and Carganilla. “They were head and shoulders above all others.”

This is Esterson’s feature debut.

Sometimes the exact people who seek power are the ones who are least qualified to wield it. Meet Rey Kingston, a tech mogul and video game designer who wouldn’t be mad at all if you called him “The King,” played by Billy Magnussen. The big bad of Spy Kids: Armageddon isn’t playing games, though his plan for world domination is disguised as one in the form of Hyskor, a buzzy new video game he uses to break into the Tango-Torrez family’s network and unleash chaos on the whole world. Rodriguez said a tech giant “who feels he can fix the world with his technology” and who thinks he “knows what people need the most” was a very of-the-moment villain. “He is just misguided like so many of our adversaries from past films. He goes about it the wrong way, and the goodness and purity of the children are what bring him around to seeing the light. It’s always been part of the Spy Kids series that the kids never just beat the bad guys, they redeem them by inspiring them into finding a better way.” 

Into the Woods, Game Night, Ingrid Goes West, Maniac