It has been three years since Robert Rodriguez turned his Grindhouse mock 70’s-style Mexploitation trailer Machete into a full-blown feature film that finally gave Danny Trejo, owner of one of the most unique movie star faces in the world, a starring role. Despite having only $10 million, Rodriguez nabbed a galaxy of rising stars and faded stars to back up Trejo and a fistful of positive reviews from B-movie geek fans and critics alike.

Machete earned over $14 million at the box office in its first weekend, but its earning potential quickly plummeted afterwards and by the time it left theaters, the movie had a total gross of $26 million. The end credits promised a forthcoming duo of insane sequels and since the original was profitable enough to warrant one so far, Rodriguez soon found himself at the helm of Machete Kills.

The follow-up has been making headlines for its crazily inspired casting of fallen stars-cum-late night talk show punchlines Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen as the movie’s main villain – an eccentric billionaire arms dealer – and the President of the United States, respectively. On top of that, the cast also added pop starlet Lady Gaga, Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Zoe Saldana, Oscar-nominee Demián Bichir, Alexa Vega, High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens, past Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr., Die Hard 2 baddie William Sadler, and Chilean action star Marko Zaror. Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba are also in for the fun, reprising their roles from the original, and it looks like Tom Savini and Lindsay Lohan will be back as well though it is a question of how large their parts will be this time around. Savini’s character, hit man-for-hire Osiris Amanpour, was originally supposed to die in the first movie, but Rodriguez trimmed his death from the final cut. You can see it in the deleted scenes section of the Machete Blu-ray.

There has not been any news of the movie’s release except that it would possibly hit theaters sometime this year. Today, Open Road Films has announced a release date for Machete Kills: September 13, 2013. This slot makes sense as the original Machete also opened in early September back in 2010. Plus, this gives it a chance to capture some of those summer moviegoing stragglers who refuse to accept that the prestige film season is about to begin. Then again, September is not always the best time to open a violent action film with limited audience appeal, as last year’s criminally underrated Dredd will attest. The curiosity value of the cast of Machete Kills might work well in its favor. It matters little to me because I am there opening night regardless; the first movie was one of my favorites of 2010 and it has held up well on repeat viewings on video. Hell, it recently played on the cable channel FX with all of its violent content intact, but the nudity and foul language removed. You’re welcome, America. I do not know about you all reading this, but consider me ready for another Rodriguez-brand Tex-Mex bloodbath.

Machete Kills opens on September 13, 2013. Sí de infierno!

[Source: Deadline]