Even if you’re not a fan of Robert Rodriguez’s footloose and fancy-free style of maverick filmmaking, you have to respect the fact that he certainly knows how to round up an impressive cast with each passing project. While he usually peppers films from “Spy Kids” to “Sin City” and beyond with delightful and unexpected casting choices, “Machete Kills” serves to be no exception to the rule. We already have Danny Trejo returning as the titular character, with roles for Zoe Saldana, Amber Heard, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, and Sofia Vergara. Rodriguez has also thrown in Academy Award-nominated actor Demian Bichir and (reportedly) “Ong Bak” martial artist Tony Jaa for us cinephiles, and then there’s the potentially volatile concoction of stars Mel Gibson, as the film’s villain, and Charlie Sheen playing THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Yikes, Rodriguez surely knows how to cause a stir.
Well, familiarity is certainly key as well for a sequel like this, and according to Variety, it looks as if Rodriguez is bringing back some old fan favorites in the Avellan Twins – the ass-kicking duo from the first film and original faux trailer. Joining the mostly female ensemble, “Machete Kills” could turn out to be a riff on a femme fatale exploitation film – only with Machete in the lead – with the twins Electra and Elise returning as killer nurses Mona and Lisa (Ha!).
The Kyle Ward-scripted sequel to 2010’s enjoyable “Machete” will see the former Mexican Federale being hired by the U.S. government to battle his way through the most corrupt areas of Mexico in order to take down a violent arms dealer (Gibson) who looks to launch a weapon into space.
Though it doesn’t stop there, as “Machete Kills” info seems to leak the earliest across the Twittersphere, with Rodriguez posting pictures of himself, and Sheen and Alba getting in on the act too. Now, William Sadler, the go-to character actor in films like “Die Hard 2” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” has dropped some news that he also has a role in the film via a series of tweets beginning with “First full day of filming on #MacheteKills the most fun you can have doing this stuff. Seriously cool.” Much like his upcoming role in helmer Shane Black’s “Iron Man 3,” few details are available on his “Machete Kills” position, but any Sadler is good Sadler in this writer’s opinion.
Anyway, the film is set for release “sometime next year,” and if all the stars align, we hope this can be even more of a raucous blast than the first film.