The superhero movie landscape has evolved in some pretty significant ways in recent years, with countless costumed characters hitting the big screen. Prior to the MCU and DCEU as we know them today, superhero stories dove into some unexpected territory, and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D is undoubtedly among them. The Robert Rodriquez film provided a colorful and unconventional take on the superhero story, and remains a cult classic despite a negative critical and box office performance. Fifteen years after the film first debuted, it sounds like Sharkboy and Lavagirl might get a second life. During Collider’s “Directors on Directing” panel as part of ComicCon@Home, Rodriguez revealed that Sharkboy and Lavagirl will be making a cameo appearance in his upcoming Netflix film, We Can Be Heroes.
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“Sharkboy and Lava Girl show up as superhero parents who now have a daughter who has shark and lava powers,” Rodriguez teased, before revealing that “the only speaking role is for Lavagirl.”
Fans will have to wait and see if this means that Taylor Lautner and Taylor Dooley return to their roles as Sharkboy and Lavagirl, although it is definitely hard to imagine other actors portraying their fan-favorite roles.
We Can Be Heroes will feature Pedro Pascal and Priyanka Chopra, and has brought about an interesting creative challenge for Rodriguez, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My kids are at the age when they can make films alongside me. So we came up with the idea of…like an Avengers team but they all have kids,” Rodriguez explained. “The kids have powers but they don’t know how to use them because they’re just so young. It was the most challenging movie I’d ever done because, any director knows, the most challenging scene is like a dinner scene where you got a lot of people. The whole movie I got eleven superhero kids in every shot. Trying to figure out how to film that was incredible. It’s really challenging and exciting and I already shot it and was editing it when this [pandemic] happened.”
“My most rabid fanbase all these years, by far, has been my kid films. My Spy Kids audience,” Rodriguez added. “These kids watch those movies over and over because they’re action films made for children and families, in particular at a time when they need empowerment. Netflix came to me because the Spy Kids movies had done just so well on their service. They said ‘could you make a series of films that do that?’ And I said, “I’d love to! It was hard to make them for the theater because kids couldn’t drive themselves to the theater and watch it a thousand times. Parents would have to take them. With Netflix, they can just sit there and [mimics hitting a play button]. I don’t have to sit there and watch Glitter Force with my daughter, she can just click it as many times as she wants. That’s why they get such high numbers on those types of films.”
Are you excited to see Sharkboy and Lavagirl return in Robert Rodriguez‘s next film? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
