Jessica Alba and director Robert Rodriguez are good friends and constant collaborators, so it’s no real surprise to hear that Alba is the first major casting news for Rodriguez’s upcoming film, “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.” The fourth film in his kids franchise, the flick is actually a reboot of his own series that will not contain Antonio Banderas or Carla Gugino in leading roles (the film was previously known as “Spy Kids: Armageddon”).
According to THR, the new film centers on Alba as a retired spy who has been reactivated and she’ll be playing the mother of a baby and two preteen stepchildren who will fill the shoes of Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega who played the “Spy Kids” in the original three films — they’re all in their 20s now and clearly too old for the roles.
However, it is expected that Sabara, Vega and Banderas will appear in supporting roles or, more likely, cameos. More casting will soon be announced and it will include the roles of Alba’s husband, the two pre-teen spy kids and of course a villain. Expect Rodriguez regulars to appear including Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin somewhere.
Alba has already worked with Rodriguez on “Sin City” and the upcoming mexploitation film, “Machete.” She is also developing “The Insiders,” a series of French graphic novels created in 2002 by Jean-Claude Bartoll and Renaud Garreta centering on a beautiful Colombian terrorist. Last we heard, Alba had acquired the rights, Rodriguez would produce and at one point it seemed like “JVCD” director Mabrouk el Mechri would helm (Rodriguez was a huge fan of the Jean Claude Van Damme film), but he’s turned his attention elsewhere and it seems like that project is still in development.
Produced by Dimension Films, “Spy Kids 4” will be made for a modest $30 million dollars and starts lensing in Austin next month.