Netflix is picking up a new superhero film. According to Deadline, Netflix Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos announced that it will be the home for Code 8: Part II, the sequel to 2019’s Code 8.
Deadline reported earlier this month that creators Robbie and Stephen Amell would return to the world to reprise their characters in the sequel project, and that Jeff Chan was also slated to return to co-write the screenplay and direct.
The original film has an unconventional origin: it started as a short crowdfunded film back in 2016, which starred the Amells as a pair of “Specials” in a world where a small percentage of humans had powers, and were relegated to the fringes of society.
That short film acted as a sort of booster for a potential feature-length film—the Amells turned to Indigogo again to raise more than $2 million, and began production in 2017. As in the short film, the longer version was set in a world where people had powers, and were dealing with the impact of automation and mechanization. The film follows a man named Connor Reed (Robbie Amell with electrokinetic powers) as he works to find the drugs his dying mother needs, and ends up running into the police and their drones, as well the criminal underworld, over the course of the film.
Deadline revealed that a sequel was in the works, and that this film would follow a teenage girl who’s trying to get justice after her brother is murdered by police officers, and turns to Connor and his friend Garrett (Stephen Amell) for help. Netflix’s Sarandos revealed that the streaming service will distribute the project once it’s out. It is slated to begin production in Canada soon, and is expected to debut on the platform later this year.
