When he first teased his Grindhouse spin-off movie Machete, Robert Rodriguez seemed to think it would never be anything other than a direct-to-DVD feature. The movie has since become a reality, a much bigger reality than anyone ever really imagined. The picture’s been filming in Austin with a star-studded cast including the likes of Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, and Cheech Marin, and now it has worldwide theatrical distribution. Bottom shelf DVD this isn’t.

Variety says Sony Pictures has acquired the international distribution rights to Machete, which they’ll release through their Hyde Park Entertainment appendage. Apparently the movie is also now about a police officer. How did I miss that?

No really. For some reason I’d thought it was about a Mexican assassin but Variety says the “story centers on a former Mexican police officer who turns the tables on the masterminds who double-crossed him.” I liked this idea better when I (mistakenly) thought it was about hiring illegal immigrants as hired killers. Back your pickup to Home Depot and hire a Mexican ninja is cooler than Federale revenge. It’s also not entirely a Robert Rodriguez film. He’s co-directing again, this time with Ethan Maniquis whose only previous work was as an editor on Rodriguez’s other movies.