Summary
Robert Rodriguez rebooted his Spy Kids franchise with Spy Kids: Armageddon and stuck with an old filming tradition as he did it. The film follows two new youngsters as they dive into their parents’ world of spyhood, thus leaving characters like Juni and Carmen in the past. Still, the film contains all the familiar flavor of the original Spy Kids trilogy, just brought to a new generation. Keeping with his past trends, Rodriguez had his new spy family, the Torrez-Tangos, live in the familiar city of Austin, Texas—and this is precisely where all the filming took place.
Spy Kids: Armageddon follows Tony and Patty Torrez-Tango (Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla) as they discover that their seemingly ordinary parents, Nora Torrez (Gina Rodriguez) and Terrence Tango (Zachary Levi), are actually spies. When they accidentally help an evil game developer gain access to the world’s technology, they must take matters into their own hands and train to become spies themselves to stop him. Of course, this means for a lot of kooky Spy Kids-style action and comedy. Before the kids save the day at the end of Spy Kids: Armageddon, they must fight villains all around the streets of Austin, Texas, surrounded by some familiar ATX landmarks.
Austin, Texas
Rodriguez filmed all his Spy Kids movies in Austin, Texas, and the reboot Spy Kids: Armageddon was no exception. The filming crew took to some of the most familiar streets of the city for various scenes, such as Tony and Patty’s escape in their nifty spy kart. The pair zipped down Congress Avenue, and there was a clear shot of the Austin Capitol building in the background (just beyond the axe-wielding skeletons).
Other familiar Austin, Texas, buildings were also seen in Spy Kids: Armageddon. The building in which Torrez and Tango go to work is reportedly (via ATX Gossip) the Austin Energy headquarters on Mueller Boulevard. Additionally, the new OSS headquarters was filmed at the Mary Elizabeth Branch Park pavilion building in Mueller, with the Google Tower of Austin visible over the top. Then there is the Torrez-Tango home, shot at an actual vacant residence in West Lake Hills, a suburb of Austin.
Troublemaker Studios – Austin, Texas
Of course, not all Spy Kids: Armageddon’s scenes could be shot on the streets of Austin, Texas. The high-tech, underground spy training facility utilized by Tony and Patty, as well as other indoor scenes, required sound stages to pull off. Thankfully, the crew didn’t have to go far since Rodriguez’s own Troublemaker Studios has its home right in Austin. This is the same place where the original Spy Kids trilogy was filmed, as well as Rodriguez’s other spinoffs like We Can Be Heroes, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, and even Danny Trejo’s Machete. Ultimately, it’s a comfort to know Spy Kids: Armageddon was filmed in the franchise’s home studio.
