Robert Rodriguez has a superhero movie called We Can Be Heroes coming to Netflix at the beginning of 2021. Initially, it seemed like it was a new, original premise from the director, utilizing as much green screen technology as possible to bring it to life. But earlier this week, we learned the movie takes place in the same universe as The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, and both of the superheroes are returning all grown up. But they wont be in action for long.

We Can Be Heroes finds alien invaders kidnapping all of Earth’s superheroes, leaving their superpowered kids to be protected in a government safe house. But rather than sit by and let their parents suffer at the tentacles of these nasty aliens, these rugrats take matters into their own hands to save their parents and the world. It’s basically Spy Kids with superheroes, and it all looks quite ridiculous, and you can watch the We Can Be Heroes trailer below to see for yourself.

We Can Be Heroes Trailer

Along with the return of Taylor Dooley and JJ Dashnaw stepping into the role of Sharkboy that Taylor Lautner is apparently too good for now, Pedro Pascal, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, and more all play superhero parents. But it’s Yaya Gosselin who steps up as the young leader of these super powered kids, played by mostly unknown young actors, each with their own unique abilities, which include super elasticity, manipulating time, and seeing the future.

Obviously, this is something that kids will have a great time with. But from a filmmaking perspective, I can’t help but note how cheap this still looks. Much like the Spy Kids movies and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, this movie was clearly made with a lot of visual effects that look cheaper than your average blockbuster. Sure, technology has progressed a lot since those movies came out, but when compared to the evolution of other big budget VFX, it just feels like bargain bin movie.

When alien invaders kidnap Earth’s superheroes, their kids are whisked away to a government safe house. But whip-smart tween Missy Moreno (Yaya Gosselin) will stop at nothing to rescue her superhero dad, Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal). Missy teams up with the rest of the superkids to escape their mysterious government babysitter, Ms. Granada (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). If they’re going to save their parents, they’ll have to work together by using their individual powers — from elasticity to time control to predicting the future — and form an out-of-this-world team.

We Can Be Heroes arrives on Netflix on January 1, 2021.

The post ‘We Can Be Heroes’ Teaser Trailer: Sharkboy and Lava Girl Are All Grown Up and Their Kids Need to Save Them appeared first on /Film.