In Netflix’s Lost In Space season 3, the Robinson children Will (Maxwell Jenkins), Penny (Mina Sundwall), and Judy (Taylor Russell) have graduated from colonists-in-training to independent space explorers settling on a strange new planet after they were forced to evacuate the Resolute and leave their parents Maureen (Molly Parker) and John (Toby Stephens), and close friend Don West (Ignacio Serricchio), behind at the end of season 2. After being separated from their parents for a year, Will, Penny, and Judy attempt to reunite with their family by returning to uncharted alien space, but they will first need to rediscover their bond, not just as a crew, but as siblings to leave the planet.
Screen Rant spoke with Lost In Space stars Max Jenkins, Mina Sundwall, and Taylor Russell to discuss Judy’s evolution as the new captain of the Jupiter 2, the possible reappearance of Judy's biological father Grant Kelly, and what each of the actors will personally miss most about playing a Robinson now that the series has entered its final season.
Screen Rant: Max, Will has had quite a journey since season 1. He went from a scared kid who wasn’t able to act quickly under pressure and now he’s preparing to take on an entire Robot army alone. What do you think has given Will such a boost of confidence between seasons 1 and 3?
Max Jenkins: Honestly, I think it’s probably a lot of things. I would say that - immediately I feel like as we grow older and bigger and stronger, we innately get some more confidence, but I would also say that it’s primarily the people that Will is surrounded by. I mean I know just being Max Jenkins and being surrounded by these incredible people on set, I’ve kind of grown up in a fun way and I feel like I’ve become more confident in myself. I think Will Robinson being surrounded by his incredibly strong family, and also the Robot - I think it all kind of came together to make him who he is.
Taylor, since season 1, Judy has wanted to be treated like an adult rather than as a kid. Now that she’s responsible for the 97 children from the Resolute, how does she manage her new role as captain of the Jupiter 2?
Taylor Russell: How does she manage it? I mean, I think she’s taking everything day by day and trying to make the best decisions at the moment and you know - being cognizant of the fact that she’s kind of the only adult and thinking a lot about what her parents would do. So I think in a lot of ways, she is leading from others’ perspective almost and she’s trying to find out who she is as a leader, but also just following the rules and doing what her parents want. It’s tricky. It’s a hard thing. It’s very lonely and isolating and you know - be careful what you wish for is kind of the theme with Judy in this season.
In terms of leadership skills, Judy appears to have inherited Maureen’s problem solving and John’s bravery. What unique quality does Judy bring to the table as the captain of the Jupiter 2 that’s all her own?
Taylor Russell: That’s a good question. [laughs] I’m really thinking about it. What does she bring that’s all her own? I mean I think there’s a deep current underneath her that feels - she feels a lot, but she’s not so willing to put herself out there. And I think that complicated depth underneath is something that’s really interesting and unique that can help her relate to others and she cares a lot about all of these kids.
I think caring and her depth maybe is what makes her different, but she’s a good blend between the two, John and Maureen, and also of her birth father.
Mina, now that Judy is the new captain of the Jupiter 2, how does Penny feel taking orders from her sister?
Mina Sundwall: [laughs] Not very good. I think there’s always kind of that weird territory for the middle child of not being the best in any direction, especially being the oddball in the family. I think Penny always felt left out in a certain way so there is a tension that comes with now having to take orders from your sister. It’s not normal by any means so it’s a little bit rocky for a bit.
Judy and John Robinson’s father-daughter dynamic became a lot stronger in season 2. In what ways do you think the discovery of the Fortuna and the possible reappearance of Grant Kelly will affect her relationship with John?
Taylor Russell: I think it’s incredibly complex between her and John as it is and she hasn’t really had a father figure that has been super stable in a lot of ways. So I think her testing with John, which we saw in season 1, and then you know [their relationship] growing and changing in season 2, and now for it to be the strongest it’s been in season 3, but then having the new challenge of Grant, perhaps, of the Fortuna, of her imagination of what could possibly be and the life that she’s always wondered about with this other person, perhaps? Nothing’s for sure so it’s like a mystery in some way and a dream.
I think that she really cares and loves her father. He’s her father at the end of the day. She doesn’t know anything else, so yeah - we’ll see what happens.
Now that Lost In Space has reached its third and final season, what’s the one thing you’ll miss most about playing a Robinson?
Max Jenkins: I would immediately jump to the people, but I also know that we’ve been through it on the show. We’ve done some pretty crazy stuff and we stuck by each other through that so I don’t think the people are going anywhere. But I would say that something that me and Mina were talking about earlier was missing the Jupiter 2 because the Jupiter 2 was our home for five years.
I remember my final day on set and after having wrapped, it didn’t really hit me that I had wrapped because you know the last two times I had wrapped, I knew I was going back for another season, but this time we knew it was the final one. So I remember walking through the Jupiter 2 for the last time and then just going home not realizing what I’d just done and then I saw a photo two weeks after of the Jupiter 2 in the stage that it was always in, but it was completely demolished in rubble on the ground and that kind of broke me a little bit.
So I would say I’m going to miss the Jupiter 2 and our incredible sets the most, but I also know that what’s so cool about Netflix is that it kind of just lives on there for eternity so I can always go back and visit it if I want.
Mina Sundwall: I totally agree. I’m going to really miss the sets and there were lots of little moments that we had because we did work pretty long days sometimes and some of the stuff we do is strenuous on the body so I remember the moments in between.
I’m going to miss those a lot, but I guess about being a Robinson other than the fact that now I have to write my own jokes, which is way harder, there’s something that I really admire about Penny that I really enjoyed being part of her growth for the last three seasons and watching her become independent and mature. She and I were always kind of similar ages especially with the time jumps so we were going down an almost identical path at certain times from an emotional standpoint so that I’m going to miss kind of having that parallel and getting to explore like a different way to do things.
Taylor Russell: The coolest part about, I think for me at least is when you walk onto a set you only imagine what it could be and then it’s so different from that, so much bigger and you see all of the people that have worked on it and made it possible. That’s really cool and we were really lucky to have these elaborate, really detailed spaces to create and I’m going to miss that. Yeah, the Jupiter 2. I’m going to go with your guys’ answer. That’s a big one. And I’m sad that it’s demolished now, but yeah there’s so much to miss.
Lost In Space season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.