If you would have asked us a year ago whether we thought a sequel to Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" would ever happen, we would have taken a bet against it. Response to the 2010 film didn't set the roof on fire, but made quick and inexpensively, the exploitation film's $44 million worldwide gross was evidently enough to warrant a sequel. After all, Rodriguez just makes the picture in-house via his Troublemaker Studios and then strikes a deal with a distributor afterwards, with the writer/director still controlling rights. No fuss, no muss.
And the director talks a big game often, perhaps one that is wishful thinking sometimes, but it seems in 2012, his money is where his mouth is. After years of promising its return, "Sin City 2" is finally shooting this summer. But before that, cameras will roll on "Machete Kills." With a cast that already includes Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez and newcomers to the franchise, Mel Gibson, Amber Heard and Sofia Vergara, evidently one more name has been added to the cast, though it hasn't been officially announced. Who let the cat out of the bag early? Trejo himself.
"[It] is going to be a lot more over-the-top than 'Machete'," Trejo said in an interview with Moviehole. "We’ve got Sofia Vergara, who is a star in her own right, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez and Zoe Saldana. And guess what? I get to kiss all of ‘em.”
So add an "Avatar" member to the cast, and keep an eye on those recurring rumors about Mexican actor Demián Bichir joining the fold. Rodriguez certainly loves his babes, and "Machete Kills" seems like it's pretty chock full of them already. The plot for 'Kills' evidently centers on the U.S. government recruiting Machete (Trejo) to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who looks to launch a weapon into space. Would that launch the proposed threequel film "Machete In Space" (or "Machete Kills Again… In Space!" depending on who you're asking about the title)? At this point, we won't bet against it.