vivien blair as guppy one of the next generation of world-savers in Robert Rodriguez's We Can Be Heroes. Netflix announced today that they are developing a sequel after massive viewer numbers over Christmas and the holidays.

vivien blair as guppy one of the next generation of world-savers in Robert Rodriguez’s We Can Be Heroes. Netflix announced today that they are developing a sequel after massive viewer numbers over Christmas and the holidays.

“Kids can’t drive themselves to the theatre, but they can watch it on Netflix as much as they want.” That’s how Robert Rodriguez explained why he hoped his latest kids’ movie, We Can Be Heroes, might be a breakout success at Netflix. Well, not only is it a hit, but he’s just confirmed a sequel is in the works.

The junior superhero movie, a sequel of sorts to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl … in 3D, debuted on the streaming platform on Dec. 25, and was an instant success. When Netflix released its holiday watching numbers, it was the most-watched family movie in 88 of its 93 international markets, and is on track for 44 million views in its first four weeks. The platform is so happy with its success that it said that development of a sequel has been green lit.

Confirming the announcement, Rodriguez tweeted this today:

The Austin-made We Can Be Heroes stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Priyanka Chopra (Quantico), Christian Slater, and Taylor Dooley (Lavagirl herself) as part of a superhero initiative that finds itself flat-footed by an alien invasion, and forced to turn to the next generation of heroes to save the world – whether they’re ready or not. Read our interview with Rodriguez and star YaYa Gosselin here.

This article appears in January 1 • 2021.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.