'We Can Be Heroes 2': Major Update on the Netflix Sequel

The We Can Be Heroes sequel will begin filming in 2022 according to director Robert Rodriguez. Rodgriguez was on a press tour this week promoting some of his new and upcoming work, including the sequel to his hit Netflix original film about superheroes of all ages. He told reporters from Collider that he plans on filming We Can Be Heroes 2 next year, meaning its release could come soon after that.

Netflix ordered a sequel to We Can Be Heroes shortly after it premiered last year, and Rodriguez said that the studio is eager for the next installment. "They've been shocked at how well it's kept doing. They call it unstoppable," he said. "They've never seen any movie behave like that. It just will not stop. Kids will just not stop watching it. And I think it happened with the Spy Kids movies, but you couldn't ever keep track of it, because you can't tell how many times kids watch it on VCR or watch on Disney channel. But now with their metrics, they can tell how many times a household is watching something again and again, through completion. Which a lot of the times when it's been a big opening weekend, it didn't mean people actually watched the whole movie. It means they watched five minutes or more."

Rodriguez got a look at the detailed analytics data that Netflix usually keeps to itself, and he was extremely pleased by what he saw. He said: "The completion rate was really high, but also the repeat rate was just off the charts, because kids just will watch it in the morning before school and after school every day. So yeah, they definitely want a sequel, which I'm working on, because it's a new franchise for them. That behaves very differently. But kids crave empowerment and those movies just hit those buttons."

Of course, the success of the movie only compliments the creative fulfillment for Rodriguez, who said that these projects mean as much to him as any of his darker, more mature work. He said: "I love making those films. They're so creative. The adults have a great time too. Most of the adults in the cast had kids too that couldn't watch any of their movies. So it's a great building of a world. My own children work on the films. So it's like a family affair. It's family time. You're making products for other families, and you're checking all the boxes, living the best life."

We Can Be Heroes is a superhero fantasy following the children of the greatest superheroes in the world coming of age and discovering their own power. It stars Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, Sung Kang, Adriana Barraza, Christopher McDonald, Taylor Dooley, Vivien Blair and YaYa Gosselin. The movie is streaming now on Netflix, but there is no official release date for the sequel just yet.