Machete star Danny Trejo has revealed that Machete Kills in Space is delayed because of one crucial reason. Trejo first played the character of Machete for Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids’films, and later reprised the character in the fake trailer that appeared in between segments of the double-feature film Grindhouse. In 2010, Trejo finally played the character in a lead role for Rodriguez’s incredibly bombastic Machete. The homage to B-level action movies proved to be entertaining, with ridiculous scenes like using a man’s intestine to jump out of a window, and it paved the way for the less praised sequel, Machete Kills in 2013.
Despite the sequel not striking the right balance of intentionally-bad-but-fun according to a lot of critics, it did set up an intriguing and even more over the top third film: Machete Kills in Space. A small trailer for Machete Kills in Space played at the end of the last film, which sees the president (Charlie Sheen) send Machete to space to battle a villain named The Man in the Silver Mask. Fans of the franchise have been eagerly waiting for the film ever since, and in 2018, Trejo provided a brief update on the “unbelievably crazy” project. However, now the star of Machete has given us an explanation for the delay on the third film.
In an interview with Discussing Film, Trejo is asked about Machete’s ten year anniversary this September, and the actor replied by saying, “Wow. That’s unreal,” before adding that if director Rodriguez “would ever get off his ass, he’d write Machete Kills in Space!” and joking that he “might write it.” However, when asked for an update on the third film, he said: “You know I haven’t spoken to Robert in a while. He’s been really busy and I’ve been busy. Maybe I’ll call him, see what’s up. But I haven’t talked to Robert for a while.” Trejo would go on to joke that Rodriguez “kind of dumped me I think… I got too big,” but said that Rodriguez was “great,” and reiterated that the director’s “busy,” and has “got six kids.”
Considering their history together in cinema, and that they are real-life cousins, it’s hard to believe that Rodriguez would ever "dump" Trejo. Still, the news that the two haven’t spoken in a while is not a promising sign for fans awaiting Machete Kills in Space, as it looks like there has not been a lot of progress on the third installment. The pair last came together for 2013’s Machete Kills, and as Trejo explained, the two have been busy with other projects. Rodriguez recently directed Alita: Battle Angel and an episode of The Mandalorian season 2. Trejo most recently starred in the documentary Inmate #1, which documents the life of Trejo.
While Machete and his fans are waiting for his trip to space, The Mandalorian has already sent the franchise's director to space, and it could potentially have Trejo appear in a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars writer Gary Whitta promised he’d try to get Trejo a role in future seasons of The Mandalorian. Although the pair being involved with The Mandalorian is an exciting prospect, fans of Machete will no doubt be clamoring for the two to start making Machete Kills in Space a reality, and restore the wonderful balance of over-the-top entertainment the original had.
Source: Discussing Film