Spy Kids: Armageddon rebooted Juni and Carmen’s story and introduced two new little spies. Like their predecessors, Tony and Patty discover that their parents are members of a secret spy organization, and they must step up to learn the family business and save the world from a dangerous criminal. Full of goofy action and comedy, the newest installment in Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids franchise contains much of the flavor of the original trilogy, but there are still a few differences between Tony and Patty and the Spy Kids we remember.
Tony and Patty Torrez-Tango discover in Spy Kids: Armageddon that their parents, Terrence Tango and Nora Torrez, are members of the secret spy organization, Organization of Super Spies, and are then thrust into the adventure of their dreams. This is a big responsibility for two young kids to handle, but Spy Kids is the name of the game. Juni and Carmen were also young when their adventures began in the original Spy Kids movie. So, how do the ages of Spy Kids: Armageddon‘s heroes compare?
Tony Is 9 Years Old & Patty Is 8 Years Old
It’s not entirely clear how old Tony and Patty are in Spy Kids: Armageddon, but it can be assumed they are around the ages of the actors who portray them. Tony is played by Connor Esterson, who turned 10 in August 2023. This means he would have been about 9 when he was cast as the oldest child of the Torrez-Tango family. On the other hand, Patricia “Patty” is played by Everly Carganilla, who is 9 as of September 2023 (and would have been 8 when she was cast for Spy Kids: Armageddon). Overall, this makes for a rather young set of spies.
Tony & Patty Are Younger Than Juni & Carmen In The Original Spy Kids Movie
The 8 and 9-year-old heroes of Spy Kids: Armageddon is a bit of a shift from the original movies, where Carmen was initially 12 and Juni was 9. Of course, audiences watched the original Spy Kids actors grow up throughout the franchise, which makes Tony and Patty’s ages seem even more jarring. However, just as the actors who portrayed Carmen and Juni (Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara) were the perfect fit, regardless of their ages, the same is true for Esterson and Carganilla.
When casting for the Spy Kids movies, director Robert Rodriguez is less concerned about age than comedic delivery. He stated (via Tudum) that he was looking for kids “that are sharp, attentive, can convey the emotions and that have a real sense of humor,” going on to explain that this actually makes casting easier since there are typically only a select few who meet this criteria. He said that little Esterson and Carganilla were “head and shoulders above all others,” which explains why these actors were the pick for Spy Kids: Armageddon despite being younger than their predecessors.
