Trivia / Lost in Space (2018)

• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Maxwell Jenkins, who plays Will Robinson, is a lover of science fiction and robotics in real life who describes his favorite movie as The Iron Giant, and was so excited to play the role that he demanded his parents allow him to audition. So joyous is his performance that it almost feels like he isn't acting.
  • Taylor Russell, like Judy Robinson, was born to a Black father and White mother.
• Channel Hop: The original show was made by Fox and broadcast by CBS, this one is Netflix. And it's the fourth time in the franchise, given the movie was made by New Line, while the failed pilot The Robinsons was intended to air on The WB.
• Dawson Casting: While Maxwell Jenkins (11-12) plays Will Robinson (11) and Mina Sundwall (16) plays Penny Robinson (16), Taylor Russell (23) plays Judy Robinson (18), and is at one point mistaken for 17 in-universe. However, those actors portray the same characters up to three years earlier in the story's timeline during flashbacks, and little effort is made to make them look any younger, making Will undoubtedly the tallest third-grader in his school, Penny by far the most mature-looking 13-year-old, and Judy a high-school student who must have been held back about six grades.
• Never Work with Children or Animals:
  • During interviews about the filming of the first season, Molly Parker and Toby Stephens remarked that they did not have the stereotypical bad experiences with child actors (Max Jenkins and Mina Sundwall were 11 and 16 at the start of filming, respectively). The problem with children, they said, is most often not with the kids themselves but their parents, and both young actors' parents were quite well-behaved.
  • Debbie the chicken, however, was apparently not so well-behaved on set, with several actors getting pecked for their troubles.
• The Other Darrin: In the Japanese dub, Will Robinson was initially voiced by Mai Nishikawa for the first two seasons. For the final season, the role was recast with Yoshitsugu Matsuoka.
• Playing Against Type: Parker Posey is generally not known for portraying sociopathic villains, making her performance as Dr. Smith all the more compelling.
• Underage Casting:
  • With both the actor and the character, as the 23-year-old Taylor Russell portrays the 18-year-old Judy Robinson, who qualified as a medical doctor prior to departing on the Resolute, albeit one without any actual practice experience. Lampshaded In-Universe by Don West, who asks if she's 17.
  • Subverted for Will and Penny, whose actors (Maxwell Jenkins and Mina Sundwall) are the same ages as their characters, for Season One at least.