We Can Be Heroes: Robert Rodriguez Explains How He Got Sharkboy and Lavagirl in the Movie

Robert Rodriguez is known for an array of bloody action flicks like From Dusk till Dawn, Sin City, [...]

By Jamie Jirak

Robert Rodriguez is known for an array of bloody action flicks like From Dusk till Dawn, Sin City, and Machete. However, the director also has a history of making kids' movies, including Spy Kids and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. The latter was released in 2005 and starred Taylor Lautner and Taylor Dooley in the titular roles. Fans recently found out that the characters would be returning for Rodriguez's upcoming family film We Can Be Heroes. While Lautner won't be stepping back into the role, Dooley will be in the new movie as Lavagirl. In a recent interview with Rodriguez, ComicBook.com asked the director about bringing back the iconic characters.

"I always wanted to do something again with them 'cause I just love those characters," Rodriguez shared. "They were like the original little kids' superheroes. And I didn't come up with it, my son did, and I thought, 'Wow, that's amazing.' That's what a kid really loves, empowerment. And why not have shark strength and be half-boy, half-shark, or have the powers of lava? So, when Netflix actually asked me to come up with a movie that was original, not a remake or connected to anything else for their service, and the first thing I came up with was superhero kids and 'We Can Be Heroes,' I had the title. I thought, 'Okay, the parents get captured, kids are gonna save the world, type of thing.'"

Rodriguez continued, "So I delivered them the script and we came up with a bunch of characters. It was like 16 kids with superpowers, but none of them had shark strength, which I kept wanting to steal from that movie because it was such a good one. It was like we cracked the code a long time ago. That was a good one and the lava one... They borrow Spider-Man sometimes for like an Avengers movie, so I would borrow the parents, have them be parents, that way I can have this little super-kid named Guppy who's got both of their powers combined. Why not, instead of having two kids with the powers, have one kid with that combined power. So, they let us do that."

He added, "It also creates .... a 'legit' sort of superhero-parent team, because you recognize at least two of the names, it wasn't all made-up stuff like Miracle Guy and Lightning Fast, you know. 'Sharkboy and Lavagirl, oh, I've heard of them!' Even if you've never seen those movies, after 15 years, somebody's heard about this. So, yeah, that's why it was fun to bring them into this world."

Stay tuned for more from our interview with Rodriguez, which is also available to watch at the top of the page. We Can Be Heroes hits Netflix on December 25th.

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