We Can Be Heroes: The Sequel

We Can Be Heroes: The Sequel (also known as We Can Be Heroes 2) is a 2022 American Superhero film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film is a sequel to the 2020 film We Can Be Heroes, and continues the storyline from the first film two years later, with the new Heroics having to fight off creatures created in an evil scientist's lab.
Unlike the first film, which was released exclusively on Netflix, We Can Be Heroes: The Sequel was instead theatrically released on November 25, 2022, and received positive reviews from critics, who deemed it superior to its predecessor and praised the visual effects and performances, although the plot was criticized. The film was also a box office success, grossing $74 million against a budget of $20 million. A sequel, We Are Heroes, will be released on October 13, 2023, and features characters from the Spy Kids franchise, making the Sharkboy & Lavagirl and Spy Kids series part of the same cinematic universe.
== Plot ==
Two years after taking over from their parents, the new Heroics continue to fight crime in their city, (they're also technically called "City Pals", because... they live in the city.), and other parts of the world. However, after Rewind, (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), (Crimson Legend & Red-Lightning-Fury's son), suffers a concussion, and is temporarily restricted, (in this case, I think it must mean "stripped"), of his powers, due to medical concerns, the Heroics take a break from fighting "evil"... (to be fair, all "Good-Guys" need this in their lives... especially... "reformed"/"redeemed" ones!). Due to this, a lab scientist gone "mad" named DeAndre Barrett, (Mike Epps), takes advantage of their absence, and soon begins developing a "chemical substance" that can transfer powers from one to another. He tests it out by drinking it, breaking into the house of the new leader of the Heroics, Missy Moreno, (YaYa Gosselin), and steals her father's, Marcus Moreno's, (Pedro Pascal's), ability to make things move to his will.
The next day, the Heroics arrive at Headquarters/HQ like usual, (probably/possibly for a top-secret/sea-cret meeting on how to finally stop all current enemies once and for all), only to find a note on the door left by Barrett, with the written words, "I've stole some powers, will be back soon for all the rest of you". Frightened, they take a helicopter and go back to the alien base where they first took their new roles as the Heroics originally, and Wheels, (Andy Walken), leads the crew into the pyramid room, where they find Ojo, (Hala Finley), a drawer of the future, who actually turned out to be Supreme Commander of the Aliens, (both full-time and semi-mer ones!), and the leader of the takeover for the new Heroics. They explain what just happened, and ask Ojo, (Hala Finley), to draw what will happen next, but she says that she can't do it anymore, and that she, (somehow), lost the power... (possibly due to DeAndre Barrett stealing her power of the future/Pre-cognition, through drawings/pictures!). She agrees to come along with them, anyway, but when they get outside, their helicopter is destroyed. Wild Card, (Nathan Blair), uses his powers to transform into a plane, and they fly off to find DeAndre Barrett.
They arrive back at Headquarters/HQ, and soon, or, eventually, decide to rest before they locate DeAndre Barrett. However, while they are sleeping, he sneaks into the base, and takes away their powers. When they wake up, Slo-Mo, (Dylan Henry Lau), finds himself going at normal speed and Facemaker/"Mist", (Andrew Diaz), can't morph/shape-shift/shape-change his face/body. All the Heroics then quickly and soon find out that their powers are gone, except for Wheels, (Andy Walken), who was up working in a separate room, while the others were sleeping. Infuriated, Missy, (YaYa Gosselin), leads the crew to a helicopter, and they fly over to DeAndre Barrett's base, due to Wheels, (Andy Walken), knowing the exact location, from his rides around the neighborhood.
When they arrive at DeAndre Barrett's base, he greets them, and then, shows off all the powers he stole from the Heroics. They try to take him on, but they all mercilessly get thrashed back into a pit, where DeAndre Barrett then quickly and instantly seals it up, evilly cackling, as he walks away, temporarily trapping them... yet again. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Rewind, (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), is watching the television, when he sees that the Heroics have been captured... yet again. Thinking about his besties/"friends"/etc. and sister, fellow member of the Heroics, Fast Forward, (Akira Akbar), he sneaks out of the hospital, and hijacks an ambulance. He then arrives at DeAndre Barrett's base, where he keeps rewinding time, so DeAndre Barrett, (Mike Epps), can't do anything to him. Rewind, (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), then runs, and soon finds the pit, where he frees his besties/"friends" and his own sister, too. Noodles, (Lyon Daniels), and Missy, (YaYa Gosselin), lead part of the crew into a shelter, which was nearby, whilst A Capella, (Lotus Blossom), and Guppy, (Vivien Lyra Blair), hide inside a different room with Rewind, (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), where they find the power-transferring "chemical substance". They sneak it back to the rest of the Heroics, and they all take a quick sip from the vial. They then re-confront DeAndre Barrett, (Mike Epps, (Michael Elliot Epps), again, and take back their stolen powers, (along with their parents' powers, of course... which... also probably/possibly had gotten stolen, too!), and police arrive to arrest DeAndre Barrett, for his crimes. They also ask Ojo, (Hala Finley), if she would like to join the Heroics, to which she politely refuses, and goes back to her home base, Planet Ogima.
Back at base, "everyone"/"everybody"/"everycreature"/"everypony" holds a surprise party for Rewind, (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), and all the past Heroics, including Sharkboy, (JJ/J. J. Dashnaw), and Lavagirl, (Taylor Dooley), (Guppy's parents), come to celebrate, as well. Ms. Granada, (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), former leader of the Heroics, and Ojo, (Hala Finley), (Ms. Granada's step-daughter), also come to visit and chat with the crew. In a post-credits scene, Max, (Cayden Boyd), the "person"/"pony"/"creature" who actually/apparently created Sharkboy, (JJ/J. J. Dashnaw), (Guppy's dad/father), and Lavagirl, (Taylor Dooley), (Guppy's mom/mother), comes in, and quickly/instantly asks for the Heroics.
== Cast ==
* YaYa Gosselin as Missy Moreno, Marcus Moreno's, (Pedro Pascal's), son, and Anita Moreno's, (Grandma Moreno to Missy), (Rita Moreno's), granddaughter. Grandma Anita Moreno, (Rita Moreno), doesn't appear in the sequel... she only appears in the first one/movie!
* Hala Finley as Ojo, Ms. Granada's step-daughter.
* Lyon Daniels as Noodles, Invisi-Girl’s son.
* Nathan Blair as Wild Card, Tech-No's son.
* Andy Walken as Wheels, Miracle Guy's son.
* Lotus Blossom as A Capella, Ms. Vox's daughter.
* Dylan Henry Lau as Slo-Mo, Blinding Fast's son.
* Vivien Lyra Blair as Guppy, Sharkboy and Lavagirl’s daughter.
* Isaiah Russell-Bailey as Rewind, Crimson Legend & Red-Lightning-Fury's son.
* Akira Akbar as Fast Forward, Crimson Legend & Red-Lightning-Fury's daughter.
* Andrew Diaz as Facemaker, Crushing Low's son.
*Mike Epps, (Michael Elliot Epps), as DeAndre Barrett, an "ordinary" scientist gone downright "mad"/"evil", and who is the main antagonist.
Additionally, all of the past Heroics from the first film/movie reprise their roles, which includes Pedro Pascal as Marcus Moreno, (Missy's dad/father), Boyd Holbrook as Miracle Guy, (Wheels's/Wheels' dad/father), Christian Slater as Tech-No, (Wild Card's dad/father), Taylor Dooley as Lavagirl, (Guppy's mom/mother), Sung Kang as Blinding Fast, (Slo-Mo's dad/father), Haley Reinhart as Ms. Vox, (A Capella's mom/mother), J. Quinton Johnson as Crimson Legend, (Rewind and Fast-Forward's dad/father), Brittany Perry-Russell as Red-Lightning-Fury, (Rewind and Fast-Forward's mom/mother), Jamie Perez as Invisi-Girl, (Noodles's/Noodles's mom/mother), and Brently Heilbron as Crushing Low, (Facemaker's dad/father). Taylor Lautner replaces JJ Dashnaw as Sharkboy, with Lautner originally playing Sharkboy and Dashnaw having a silent role in the first film. Priyanka Chopra Jonas also reprises her role as Ms. Granada from the first film, and Cayden Boyd makes a cameo as his character Max from The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl.
== Production ==
After the success of We Can Be Heroes, Netflix approached director Robert Rodriguez to make two sequels on the film. However, he stated that he wanted the film to be theatrical and would instead produce a television series for Netflix. Instead, Dimension Films, who have handled distribution of many of Rodriguez's past films, bought the rights for $3 million. The cast from the first film was announced to be reprising their roles, with the exception of Christopher McDonald, who played President of the United States Neil Anami. Additionally, Taylor Lautner was announced to return to his role as Sharkboy, reprising it from the 2005 film The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl. Principal photography began in March 2021, shooting in Texas and Georgia. Visual effects were once again provided by Weta Digital.
== Release ==
The film was originally set for release on March 18, 2022, but was pushed back to November 25, 2022, due to conflicting re-shoots. A teaser trailer was released on April 13, 2022, with a full trailer being released on September 3, 2022.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
We Can Be Heroes: The Sequel has grossed $47.4 million in the United States and Canada and $27.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $74 million, against a budget of $20 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $21 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $15-20 million in its opening weekend. The film grossed $9.3 million on its first day, including $800,000 from Thursday night previews, and debuted with $19 million, finishing third. In its second weekend, the film grossed $11 million, falling down to fifth. The film closed out its domestic theatrical run with $47 million.
=== Critical response ===
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 137 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "We Can Be Heroes: The Sequel outranks its predecessor with a more serious tone but the same low-budget fun." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on a scale of A+ to F. According to PostTrak, 69% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 52% saying they would definitely recommend it.
== Sequel ==
A sequel, titled We Are Heroes, was announced in December 2022 and will be released on October 13, 2023. The film features characters from the Spy Kids franchise and its spin-off films Machete and Machete Kills. The film also features Toby Thompson from the film Shorts, effectively connecting all of Rodriguez's kid-oriented films into one universe.