Netflix has acquired the rights a live-action film based on the popular, 90’s franchise, Carmen Sandiego. This announcement is an extension of last year’s, where Netflix had announced that they would be producing an animated series based on the Carmen Sandiego franchise to be released in 2019. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is the sole owner of the brand and franchise’s property. With this partnership, the head of HMH Productions, Caroline Fraser, will take on the title of executive producer for both the animated series and live action film. Additionally, Gina Rodriguez will voice and star in both the animated series and feature film.
Gina Rodriguez is known prominently for her role in Jane the Virgin, a role that provided her with a Golden Globe, one of the most acclaimed awards for starring in a TV series. She more recently starred in director, Alex Garland’s (known for his recent work on Ex Machina), Annihilation, and will continue this streak in the remake of 2011’s Miss Bala, which will be released on January 25 of next year by Sony Pictures. Along with starring in the Carmen Sandiego film, Gina Rodriguez will also produce it alongside Kevin Misher–one of those working with her in I Can and I Will Productions–and Caroline Fraser.
According to Deadline, the Carmen Sandiego live-action film will be a standalone adventure that’ll envelop everything the franchise was about back in the 90’s. With popular puzzle, adventure games such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego, and a TV gameshow loosely based on the latter game, there’s plenty of material for the writers to use to induce a sense of appropriate nostalgia for Netflix users. There are no writers or directors attached to the project at the moment, but you can expect that news to drop as the movie moves forward with production.
Along with the film and animated series, a new line of books from HMH will also be released in time for the TV series’ release. Prepare yourself for the ultimate dose of nostalgia.
