Danny Trejo Reveals What’s Holding Up His Sequel
Dany Trejo reveals that Machete writer and director Robert Rodriguez is to blame for another sequel not yet coming to fruition.
Danny Trejo has given fans an update on the status of the third Machete film. The actor made the revelation in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which takes a deep dive into his journey from ex-con to “Mexican superhero.” When asked about the progress of the rumored project he said, “Send an email to Robert Rodriguez and tell him to stop being afraid and do it!”
He added that the filmmaker had two winners, but is afraid to do the third one. After spending decades playing ex-cons, bodyguards, and every tough guy variant in the B-movie trenches, Danny Trejo rose to prominence in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete films. Billed as an exploitation action film, the first installment was released in 2010 and is based on the eponymous character from the Spy Kids franchise.
Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, Machete served as an expansion of a fake trailer published as a part of the promotion of Rodriguez’s and Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 feature, Grindhouse. The Danny Trejo starrer, which shared the same name as the promo clip, continues the exploitation style of the Tarantino project and includes some of the footage from the original.
Machete sees Danny Trejo reprise the title role from the fake trailer alongside Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Don Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, and Lindsay Lohan. The story follows an ex-Federale, who is set up and betrayed by a man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator. Angered by the turn of events, he launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.
Following its release, Machete earned $44,093,316 at the global box office and still holds a 71% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s critical consensus describes the film as messy, violent, shallow, and tasteless – which is precisely the point of one the most cartoonishly enjoyable films released in 2010. While fans enjoyed Danny Trejo’s performance as Isador “Machete” Cortez, Jessica Alba won the Worst Supporting Actress Razzie Award for her efforts.
Three years later, a sequel called Machete Kills was released. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, from a screenplay by Kyle Ward, the movie sees Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Tom Savini, Electra and Elise Avellan, Felix Sabates, and Jessica Alba reprise their roles from the first film. But this time, the project failed to recoup its $20 million budget and received mixed reviews from fans.
Critics were also unkind to the Danny Trejo movie, citing its overuse of plot points, poorly produced CGI, and out-of-place science fiction elements as a massive failure. However, at the end of the first film’s theatrical version, two sequels are mentioned. This includes Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again. The trailer for the third installment, Machete Kills Again… In Space precedes the second film as a “Coming Attraction.”
But although Robert Rodriguez said both sequels had been greenlit via Vulture in 2011, the project hasn’t moved forward. Meanwhile, Danny Trejo has launched a signed and numbered limited edition hot sauce for the holiday season. Only 1,000 bottles will be made and are available for purchase while supplies last at Trejosstore.com.
