Movies
‘Machete Kills Again… In Space’ Still Doesn’t Have a Script
For those who don’t remember, Dimension Films’ 2007 Grindhouse was so jam-packed with awesome that it contained several faux trailers that helped stitch together feature films from both Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. One such trailer was for Machete, which featured Danny Trejo as an ex-Federale who launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss. Even though Grindhouse was a massive flop (allegedly because it starred Rose McGowan to Harvey Weinstein’s protest), Rodriguez teamed with Ethan Maniquis to co-direct a feature version of Machete, which would arrive in theaters by 2010. It was a moderate success ($44M worldwide on a $10M budget), which helped Rodriguez get his solo-directed sequel Machete Kills into theaters by 2013. It would flop.
Machete Kills ends with a tease for a third and final film in the trilogy, Machete Kills Again… In Space, which seemed highly unlikely at the time. Still, Trejo has been vocal in promising that it’s in development, continually stating that he and Rodriguez are “working on it.” In fact, back in April of 2015, Trejo claimed it was in the works for that year.
It’s been three years since that report and nothing has come to fruition. However, Trejo is once again telling fans that he and Rodriguez are beginning work on Machete Kills Again… In Space.
“I’ve already talked to Robert,” he told Yahoo!. “Robert said, ‘I’m with ya, put it together, let’s start writing it.’ Then I talked to Mel Gibson, I said, ‘Mel, come on, let’s do the Machete Kills In Space.’ Mel says, ‘I’m in, I’m ready, tell Robert.’ So now we’re gonna do it, yeah.”
On first glance, I got super excited, but then I started to read between the lines. Rodriguez is asking Trejo to “put it together”? What the hell does that mean? Is Trejo now producing it? Is it his job to find a distributor, financier (Fox distributed Machete while Open Road put out Machete Kills)? It’s even worse when you see that there’s still no script. It’s been four years filled with empty promises and now we’re learning that they haven’t even started writing?! I guess they could pound it out in a few weeks, but this is disheartening news.
Machete could kill again, but it’s feeling like we shouldn’t expect this anytime soon, especially with Rodriguez busy with Alita, Jonny Quest, and Ugly Dolls taking up his free time. At least we’ll always have the trailer.
Movies
‘Werewolf By Night 2’? Michael Giacchino Says It’s Being Talked About But “Everything Takes Forever”
It was Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino who sat in the director’s chair for Marvel’s Disney+ Halloween special Werewolf by Night back in 2022, which was released in both throwback black & white as well as full color. But are we ever getting a sequel?
Giacchino tells Screen Rant in a new chat this week that he remains hopeful.
“We’re talking about it,” Giacchino explains. “Everything takes forever to do. There’s a lot of planning that has to happen. Everything has to fit in a particular place at a particular time.”
He adds, “So, nothing moves as fast as we’d like it to. But I hope one day that you will be sitting there watching another Werewolf by Night. That’s my hope.”
Inspired by horror films of the ’30s and ’40s, Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night takes place on a dark and somber night as a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader.
In a strange memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for BD, “The MCU kicked the horror into overdrive with Werewolf by Night. The nearly hour-long feature presents as a classic horror movie, dropping viewers into the middle of a secret world of monster hunters. Film composer Michael Giacchino directs the special, penned by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron. Giacchino focuses on evoking the classic horror vibe to assist in the initial worldbuilding. The events play out in monochrome, save for the vibrant red glow of the Bloodstone. Cigarette burns and film grain get added for that retro look. The rules of the hunt get relayed to the cutthroat candidates by way of reanimated dead, albeit in a much campier and family-friendly way via animatronics.”
“Aside from the aesthetics, Werewolf leans heavily into the mysterious,” Meagan continued. “The black and white cinematography more than sets the retro vibe; it allows the feature to remain accessible to a wider audience even as it lets its monsters and monster hunters spill plenty of blood. Toss in a Jack Pierce-inspired beast with practical application, and you’ve got a modern superhero story with a classic Universal Monsters makeover.”