The cast for Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills has been swelling to epic proportions with everyone from Mel Gibson to Lady Gaga taking a shot at the baddest Mexican on the planet, but its adding one Chilean martial arts star to its roster. Mandrill star and Fantastic Fest favorite Marko Zaror has been announced as playing Zaror in the Machete follow-up. The character will serve as a henchman to Gibson’s role as main baddie and will likely come with the benefit of punching and kicking Danny Trejo. A lot.
Says Rodriguez about the casting choice: “I’ve been a big fan of Marko’s for years, and I even created this role specifically for him. He is an incredible martial artist with physics defying speed and agility, and he has a great movie star presence. I’m sure we’ll be working together again soon.”
Zaror was equally excited about joining the Machete Kills team, saying, “to get a chance to work with Robert Rodriguez was a dream of mine since I saw El Mariachi. He has made some of the coolest characters ever. I am honored to have had the experience to work with him and his exceptional team.”
This news also comes with a special Zaror-centric poster for Machete Kills, something all of the notable characters in the film have been getting. Here’s the one for Lady Gaga’s La Chameleon in case you thought that little tidbit was just from a fever dream.
Anyone who has seen Zaror’s work in films like Mandrill, Mirageman, and Kiltro knows he can dish out the charm as well as some solid roundhouses. This role could easily serve as an American crossover for the Chilean superstar. Even Danny Trejo was once a villain in a Robert Rodriguez movie, and he looks like Danny Trejo.
Machete Kills is the latest adventure of Machete and his assortment of sharp instruments. In this one, he fights a madman set on launching missiles from space, and that’s not even the character Charlie Sheen plays. The film also stars Jessica Alba, Charlie Sheen, Alexis Vega, Demian Bichir, Vanessa Hudgens, and Michelle Rodriguez.
