Sharkboy and Lavagirl are back in the first trailer for We Can Be Heroes

It’s something we might not always want to admit, but superheroes grow old. Perhaps it’s just because we are drawn to our favourites always being a certain age and want to keep them there – or it’s a way of not admitting to ourselves that we are ourselves getting older. Well, for fans of the early 2000s Sharkboy and Lavagirl movies, you are about to feel a whole lot more aged – if looking in a mirror hasn’t already done this for you – as Netflix’s new We Can Be Heroes movie will be bringing those superheroes back… as adult parents.

Robert Rodriguez created The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D in 2005 as a fun family film (his children actually came up with most of the concepts and characters) with a strong focus on the then-revolutionary 3D technology that he was able to work with to bring its spellbinding visuals to life. The film wasn’t very successful on release though, flopping at the box office, although it still gained a following later. But now Rodriguez is back for another tale, though with this follow-up focusing on a much larger group of heroes with the childhood heroes now burdened by the extra responsibilities of adulthood. Aren’t we all?

Taylor Dooley returns to portray the character of Lavagirl (or is that Lavamom now?) that she portrayed as a kid. Taylor Lautner was not up for returning as Sharkboy though, and so we have Pedro Pascal starring in that role. The teaser is rather short but does give us a good glimpse of the bigger scale to expect from the film as well as the first look at Guppy (Vivien Lyra Blair), Sharkboy and Lavagirl’s daughter.

The film features rather cartoonish animations and characters, which is in keeping with the first movie in the series. Rodriguez was always aiming for these movies to be fun for little kids with the younger ones taking more of a starring role rather than be well put-together and acted cinematic blockbusters and this film looks no different.

We Can Be Heroes is scheduled for release on New Years Day 2021 and also stars Priyanka Chopra, Sung Kang, Boyd Holbrook, and Christian Slater.

Last Updated: November 20, 2020