Robert Rodriguez Speaks About the Possibility of Machete in Space

Robert Rodriguez has finally spoken about the potential of creating a movie titled Machete in Space due to the overwhelming interest from fans.

The character of Machete, played by Danny Trejo, was first introduced in the Spy Kids series and later reappeared in a phony trailer during the Grindhouse double-feature created by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino in 2007.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of the fans, Rodriguez transformed the fake trailer into a real film called Machete in 2010, followed by a sequel Machete Kills in 2013. The latter included another phony trailer called Machete Kills Again… In Space, which also received a lot of attention from the audience who are eager to see it turned into a full-length movie.

Robert Rodriguez, who was promoting his latest movie, Hypnotic, at the SXSW Film Festival, discussed the idea of making Machete in Space in an interview with Deadline Hollywood.

Throughout his reply, Rodriguez appeared receptive to the notion of creating Machete in Space to meet the fans’ demands, mentioning that “it’s something we must do” and “we need to provide it to them.” Read his entire response here –

That’s why I put a fake trailer for that on Machete 2 to kind of satisfy [fans], this is pretty much what it would look like, but you can see it in two minutes rather than two hours. And it never satisfies them, so we have to do it. But you know, the original was just a fake trailer on Grindhouse… [Fans] would bug us for years, “When’s that movie coming out?” I said, “It was a fake trailer.” “No, but it looked real! When is it coming out?” So we got to make it for them. It wasn’t meant to be a film, the audience just wanted it. So we have to give it to them. When someone wants something that bad, we never had that with any movie before. Now everyone’s still “Machete in Space!” You can’t give ’em enough.

Robert Rodriguez

Rodriguez initially added the fake trailer for Machete in Space in Machete Kills to appease fans, but he acknowledges that it has not completely fulfilled their desires.

He appears receptive to the idea of making a full-length film based on the concept, although there are some potential obstacles to overcome. The primary challenge is Rodriguez’s busy schedule, as he is presently occupied with promoting his new movie Hypnotic Featuring Ben Affleck.

In addition, he is working on post-production for Spy Kids: Armageddon and developing We Can Be Heroes 2. In other words, Rodriguez has a packed schedule which may impede the progress of this seemingly implausible undertaking.

Assuming Rodriguez can find the time to produce Machete in Space, he may encounter difficulties securing funding for this bizarre endeavor. Unfortunately, the previous installment, Machete Kills, was both a commercial and critical disappointment and failed to recover its production costs at the box office.

Nevertheless, the original Machete movie demonstrated an improbable transition from a phony trailer to a full-fledged film. If Rodriguez is committed towards fulfilling the wishes of his fans, Machete in Space might follow a similar course.

About Machete

Machete is a 2010 American exploitation action film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis. Based on the eponymous character from the Spy Kids franchise, the film is an expansion of a fake trailer of the same name published as a part of the promotion of Rodriguez’s and Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 Grindhouse double-feature.

Machete continues the B movie and exploitation style of Grindhouse, and includes some of the footage from the original. The film stars Danny Trejo reprising the title role from the Spy Kids series and the fake trailer, and co-stars Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Don Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal and Lindsay Lohan.