Taylor Dooley returns as Lavagirl, the beloved character from the 2005 cult classic The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, in Netflix’s standalone sequel We Can Be Heroes. She’s donning her iconic Lavagirl costume once again, and Taylor couldn’t be happier about it. However, she told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that she didn’t think she’d ever get the chance to play her breakout character ever again.
“I never thought I would,” she told HollywoodLife. “I mean, I always hoped because we were actually originally supposed to do a sequel potentially. So I always had hoped that we were going to, and then as the years passed, it just kind of dwindled. I had gotten out of acting to go to college and get my degree and live my life and start my family before I jumped back into acting as an adult. So when this came about 15 years later, it was a complete surprise and just a beautiful blessing to be able to say Lavagirl started my career and she’s kind of helping me restart my career, which is just the coolest.”
We Can Be Heroes focuses on the children of Earth’s superheroes who must team up and learn to work together if they want to save their parents and the world. The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who helmed The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and the Spy Kids movies. Taylor revealed to HollywoodLife about her call with Robert to bring back Lavagirl.
“The return kind of came about out of nowhere for me seemingly. I have my own business, and I got a phone call from Robert,” Taylor said. “We did a quick FaceTime, and he came up with this amazing movie for Netflix and was telling me about all of his ideas and how excited he was and at the very end said that we want to bring Sharkboy and Lavagirl back and have them have a daughter. It was probably the coolest conversation I think I’ve had. It was so much fun, and it kind of just grew from there. He had already cast the kids. I got to go through the whole experience of making an adult Lavagirl girl costume the second time around and being able to do all that stuff was just so much fun and so nostalgic.”
Taylor admitted it was “super nostalgic” to be back in Lavagirl’s shoes. “It’s really hard to put into words how I feel,” she continued. “I just feel so blessed to be a part of something that has kind of transcended time a little bit. Even after all these years, before We Can Be Heroes came about, I would still get recognized by people. I would get people who would tell me their kids absolutely loved the movie. They saw it through Netflix and different ways, so it was just so cool to see it live on after all these years as something that really touched people and made people feel like their dreams meant something.”
Lavagirl is married to Sharkboy, who is played by JJ Dashnaw and not Taylor Lautner, in We Can Be Heroes, and they have a daughter named Guppy. Turns out, Guppy takes a little more after her dad! “I’m a little biased, so I want to say mom, but her powers kind of go with dad,” Taylor said. “She can bend water, so she kind of has a really good mixture of both and can do what I can do with lava and with water. It’s a good mix, but she is a little bit more like her dad.”
The movie leaves it wide open for a sequel, and Taylor’s game for more Lavagirl. “I would for sure return,” Taylor told HollywoodLife. “I would do anything for Robert. Plus, I would do anything for Lavagirl. I am so tied to that character. I love her so much. I would return as Lavagirl anytime anyone asked.”
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