Frankie Muniz Says Filming 'Malcolm in the Middle' Revival Was 'Surreal'

Frankie Muniz felt a multitude of emotions reprising the leading role in the upcoming Malcolm in the Middle revival.

“It was kind of written as a two-hour movie,” Muniz, 39, shared in Us Weekly‘s cover story about the “surreal” experience of being back on set. “It’s one story line, basically … I wondered for so long, ‘What was Malcolm up to? What’s his family up to?’ I think [we] get some good answers.”

Muniz was surprised by the details in the four-episode revival, which is set to premiere on Disney+ in early 2026 .

“My whole childhood was [spent] with those people,” he said. “The moment I saw Jane [Kaczmarek], Justin [Berfield] and Chris [Masterson], it was as if we had just wrapped last week. We immediately had the connection again.”

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Muniz continued: “Bryan [Cranston] wrote me the most incredible [text] message I’ve ever received, because he watched the latest cut and there are some emotional scenes, and he was like, ‘[It] could not have come across better. I’m so proud of you.’ I’m so happy with what we filmed and the performance I gave.”

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News broke in March that Disney+ picked up a revival series for Malcolm in the Middle written by Linwood Boomer, who created the original series. The new show will chronicle Malcolm (Muniz) and his daughter as they are “drawn into the family’s chaos when Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek) demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party,” according to a press release.

“I think I had put a tweet out in 2015, [saying], ‘It would be so cool to see where Malcolm and his family are.’ I couldn’t believe the response and how [many people] went crazy for that,” Muniz told Us. “I called [show creator] Linwood Boomer, and he was like, ‘No, I like how it ended.’ Bryan and I talked about it, and he took the lead in making it happen. It took 10 years.”

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Muniz had no hesitation about signing onto the project nearly two decades after the original series ended in 2006.

“People go, ‘You don’t want to get pigeonholed [as] one character.’ But I’m like, ‘Wherever I go in the world, people know Malcolm, and they love the show and that family,'” he added. “I was in Mexico two months ago, and literally, people were crying to me [over] how it changed their family dynamic. The timing wasn’t perfect because I’m now a full-time NASCAR driver, but I wasn’t going to say no because of that.”

Muniz continued: “Having stepped away from Hollywood a bit to focus on other things and get the opportunity to jump back into it in a big way was awesome. At times, you take things for granted … now I try to put more effort into everything.”

After years in the public eye, Muniz has since shifted his focus to racing cars, but he doesn’t plan to leave show business entirely.

“Although yes, I was the one to say I’m focusing on racing,” he said. “But I’ve done things here and there. I wasn’t shutting the door to it completely, like some people who say [they] never want to be in the business again.”

For more on Muniz, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.