Getty Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez will voice the former spy for an upcoming Netflix show.
Countless video games, comics, and TV series later, the former international spy and criminal mastermind Carmen Sandiego is back in action. Netflix’s upcoming cartoon series will hit the streaming service on January 18 and Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) will voice its lead character. The titular thief will trot the globe for 20 episodes in its first season. Check out the show’s newly released trailer below.
“Carmen Sandiego is back and ready for a new crop of international capers packed with thrilling adventure and intrigue. This fresh take presents an intimate look into Carmen’s past where viewers will not only follow her escapades but also learn who in the world is Carmen Sandiego and why she became a super thief,” said Netflix in a release.
The series will aim to be both educational and entertaining (much like the video games before it) with capable hands at the helm. Duane Capizzi (The Batman) serves as the series showrunner and CJ Kettler (The Tick) is an executive producer.
The series’ official poster shows Sandiego sporting her signature red trench coat and hat while looking poised and smarter than you.
WHEN in the world is Carmen Sandiego coming to Netflix? *hacks database* January 18! Who’s ready to go on an adventure with @HereIsGina and @FinnSkata? #NetflixNewsWeek
The show will also feature Stranger Things‘ Finn Wolfhard who lends his voice as Player, Carmen’s friend and accomplice. Rodriguez herself is no stranger to voice acting. She can be heard voicing Gina in the second season of Netflix’s Big Mouth in addition to voicing Princess Marisa in Elena of Avalor.
According to the streaming giant, publisher and learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is the owner of the Carmen Sandiego franchise, and a line of books featuring Carmen will also launch in 2019 to help promote the revived series.
The game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? was originally released in 1985, triggering an entire video game series and franchise. Each game of the series is considered “edutainment” and has a particular theme and subject. Players must use his or her knowledge to track down the international thief Carmen Sandiego and her many henchmen. Using facts about cities, countries and geography, players can find clues that bring them closer and closer to Sandiego’s latest hideout. Later iterations of the game included Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Europe Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? In 2015, the game returned with HMH’s announcement of the series’ first-ever app for iPad® and iPhone®. Carmen Sandiego Returns helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of the character who proved she can still capture the attention and imagination of millions of children and their nostalgia-stricken parents. Additionally, the 2019 Carmen Sandiego TV series will be the fourth show in the franchise following past runs in 1991, 1994, and 1996.
After Carmen, Rodriguez will continue to work with Netflix; she’s locked in to produce and star in the movie Someone Great which begins filming in May. On February 1, she can be seen as the lead in Sony’s Miss Bala, and later next year, she’ll star in a fifth and final season of Jane the Virgin. She also has a role in the upcoming Warner Bros. animated film Small Foot.
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