Robert Rodriguez Is Resurrecting From Dusk Till Dawn
After a cult film and several seasons as a TV show, Robert Rodriguez let slip he's working on a new property in the From Dusk Till Dawn universe.
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Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn is a vampire action-horror movie that recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Since the original movie was released, there have been two sequels and 30 episodes of a live-action TV series. Now, director Robert Rodriguez has let slip that he’s working on an animated series in the same world. While speaking to SFX Magazine, he said that the show “will follow in the footsteps of the live-action show and further explore the world of Aztec vampires.”
Robert Rodriguez didn’t say much else about the animated series, beyond saying that it’s in the works. Rodriguez has been keeping busy lately though, having recently released We Can Be Heroes to Netflix, and announced he is working on The Book of Boba Fett for Disney+. But even though Robert Rodriguez’s schedule is packed these days, he still remains passionate and invested in his 1996 vampire movie.
From Dusk Till Dawn has become a cult favorite, an interesting mixture of Robert Rodriguez’s unique blend of action, and writer Quentin Tarantino’s flair for unusual but captivating stories. Tarantino’s script for From Dusk Till Dawn seems to have two distinct halves. The first half of the film is a dark comedy, which follows two criminal brothers, played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino. This duo takes a family hostage so they can hide in their RV in order to get across the border into Mexico.
But From Dusk Till Dawn becomes a vampire film in the second half. The brothers and the family they’ve kidnapped make their way to a saloon in Mexico. The saloon turns out to be packed full of vampires, including one played by Robert Rodriguez favorite, Salma Hayek.
While you can see the Quentin Tarantino touches in the script, this is still very much a Robert Rodriguez project. Today, we’re more familiar with his style as a director. You can see the colors of each shot are distinctly Rodriguez, that he brought in his Latino heritage, and that his action scenes are stylized in a way that was set up with his earlier films like Desperado and El Mariachi.
In 2013, Robert Rodriguez started his own cable network, El Rey. To create content for it, he made From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. From 2014 to 2016, the network aired 30 episodes of the series, seven of which Rodriguez directed himself. The series follows a Texas ranger in hot pursuit of the criminal brothers from the original movie. The ranger ends up in the same saloon packed with vampires, and the series unfolds from there. Rodriguez told SFX Magazine that the series was a chance to, “Expand the story of Santánico Pandemonium, and the whole Aztec vampire lore for my network.” While the show originally aired on El Rey, it has since become an international Netflix original series.
While discussing the live-action series, Robert Rodriguez let slip, “And now we’re looking towards, we’re developing an animated Dusk till Dawn. You’re the first person to hear that!” He didn’t share any further details, like when we might be able to see it, or whether the show will be on El Rey or possibly Netflix.
This is a good moment in Robert Rodiguez’s long career. His Netflix movie, We Can Be Heroes is a family action film in the tone of his earlier films like the Spy Kids franchise and The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Netflix measures success based on the number of households that watch at least the first two minutes of something during its first 28 days, and the streaming service announced that We Can Be Heroes aired in 44 million households. It has already been confirmed We Can Be Heroes will be getting a sequel on Netflix.
The director also recently directed an episode of The Mandalorian. It’s been rumored that those chosen to direct episodes of the beloved show are eyed for the possibility of future Star Wars projects. Enforcing that theory, Robert Rodriguez is now taking on a Star Wars television series of his own, The Book of Boba Fett. The series will air on Disney+ in December 2021.
With Robert Rodriguez setting up his own television network, making a new hit movie franchise for Netflix, becoming a major part of Disney+’s Star Wars plans, and now, working on an animated From Dusk Till Dawn, fans of Rodriguez have a lot to look forward to from the consistently busy director.
