Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego, you ask? Well, when 2019 rolls around she will be available to stream on Netflix, with Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez voicing the education icon in her newly rebooted series. Ms. Sandiego has kicked up quite a bit of excitement now that Netflix has officially announced a reboot of the series, and that excitement is compounded by the fact that the new take on the character will reportedly explore her origin story, as well as why she is who she is.
Netflix has officially released new details surrounding the development of the upcoming Carmen Sandiego reboot, and it seems that the new series will provide an unprecedented look into the mythology of the classic cartoon character. Carmen Sandiego will follow the exploits of the titular heroine as she sets out on a brand new series of heists and schemes, while also delving into her past to rationalize how she became who she is, as well as why she became the infamous thief that we all know and love.
Sandiego was initially portrayed as a villain in her earlier years, but this upcoming incarnation of the character appears to be shooting for the misunderstood anti-hero angle that has made her so popular. The creative direction for the franchise makes plenty of sense, as showrunner Duane Capizzi similarly gave The Caped Crusader the origin story treatment with his work on The Batman -- a (somewhat polarizing) DC animated series that ran from 2004 to 2008.
The streaming service seems to have quite a bit of faith that Carmen Sandiego to find a niche with its base, as Netflix has already announced a 20-episode order (with each episode clocking in at 22 minutes a pop) for the reboot's first season. In addition to Jane the Virgin actress Gina Rodriguez as the title character, Carmen Sandiego has also enlisted the vocal chops of Finn Wolfhard (a Netflix veteran following his work on Stranger Things) as Player -- Carmen's trusty accomplice on her various capers.
Carmen Sandiego is a full-fledged media franchise with origins dating all the way back to the 1980s. Appearing in a wide variety of games, TV shows, books, and comics, Carmen has become one of the most instantly recognizable educational characters of all time. She's a character whose very presence conjures up strong feelings of nostalgia among Millennials and members of Generation X, and the upcoming Netflix adaptation of her mythology seems to perfectly line up with the streaming platforms recent efforts to reboot classic properties like Voltron and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Netflix is aiming squarely at our childhoods, and it's working.
We will bring you more information related to the development of Netflix's Carmen Sandiego reboot as more details pertaining to the project become available to us. Carmen Sandiego is currently slated to debut on the streaming platform in 2019.
