Cousins Stephen and Robbie Amell both scored their breakout roles as part of the Arrowverse on The CW, with the former headlining Arrow for eight seasons as Oliver Queen while the latter boarded The Flash as Ronnie Raymond a couple of years later, albeit for a much shorter run that only spanned eleven episodes.
It’s served as the launchpad to both of their careers, though, with Stephen appearing in blockbuster sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and returning to TV in upcoming Starz wrestling drama Heels. Meanwhile, Robbie’s Amazon fantasy drama Upload has been renewed for season 2, and and he’ll be seen later this year in video game movie reboot Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
The duo collaborated on sci-fi short film Code 8 back in 2016 as well, before a crowdfunding campaign saw it raise the necessary capital to be turned into a feature. It scored a minor theatrical release in December 2019, but it found a major new audience after being added to the Netflix library in April of last year, and it must have proven popular because it’s now been announced that the Amells will be reuniting with director Jeff Chan for a sequel.
The first film is a true hidden gem that maximized its budget, telling the story of registered superhumans falling foul of the law and the tense standoff that ensues, but Code 8: Part II will follow a teenage girl fighting to get justice for her brother after he was killed by corrupt police officers, forcing her to team up with Robbie’s Connor Reed and Stephen’s Garrett Kent to expose a superpowered cover up. It’s a smart way to continue the mythology, and it’s a project worth keeping an eye on based on how the first installment turned out.
Published: Jun 1, 2021 01:57 pm