See Eiza Gonzalez Replace Salma Hayek In From Dusk Till Dawn Snake Scene
Eiza Gonzalez had the unenviable task of stepping into a role made immortal by Salma Hayek, but it turned out she was up for it.
This article is more than 2 years old
Eiza Gonzalez had a nearly impossible task when it came to the televison adaptation of From Dusk till Dawn: replace Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium, the vampire mistress and the most evil woman to ever dance. Fortunately for everyone, Gonzalez was up to the task, even when it came to the cult horror movie’s iconic snake dance scene. While the original movie, directed by Robert Rodiguez, had the distinct advantage of having Danny Trejo as Razor Charlie giving Salma Hayek an unforgettable introduction, Eiza Gonzalez did about as good of a job as anyone could do to measure up. Check it out:
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series starred Eiza Gonzalez as an undead vampire dancer who runs a desert strip club with both an iron fist and a thirst for blood. In the original movie, Salma Hayek played the same role and came to her end at the hands of the Gecko Brothers, played in that version by George Clooney and frequent Robert Rodriguez collaborator Quentin Tarantino. In both the original film and the series adaption that aired on Rodriguez’s El Rey network. While the series has not been officially canceled, all indications seem to be that the show has concluded. Considering El Rey concluded all programming at the end of 2020, it is almost certainly finished, but at least we will always be able to compare Eiza Gonzalez and Salma Hayek in the role. Fortunately, someone already did it for us here.
Robert Rodriguez first launched From Dusk till Dawn: The Series in 2014, further expanding the franchise that somewhat improbably began with the 1996 movie. Eiza Gonzalez starred in the series along with D. J. Cotrona as Seth Gecko (taking over for George Clooney) and Zane Holtz as Richie Gecko (the part Quentin Tarantino creepily played). The series further expanded the basic premise of “two scumbag brothers stumble across a nest of vampires with a pastor played by Harvey Keitel and his teenage children plus a guy who has a gun strapped to his crotch and have to survive the night” to include more elements of Meso-American mythology and folklore.
Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez starred in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series for 30 episodes, but has already made huge inroads into Hollywood. She most recently starred in the shockingly well-received Michael Bay film Ambulance with Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as well as 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, a movie that dared ask what would happen if Godzilla was versus King Kong. Spoiler: a lot of flames and giant axes.
Eiza Gonzalez will also star in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Extrapolations, an anthology drama series about climate change with a huge cast that includes Meryl Streep, Daveed Diggs, Kit Harington, Tobery Maguire, Edward Norton, and apparently the majority of actors currently working. Eiza Gonzalez will also star in the hotly anticipated Netflix adaption of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem, which has been developed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Until then, we will just have to have memories of the snake dance.
