Cheech Marin, Teresa Ruiz, Danny Trejo Join Jorge Gutiérrez’s ‘La Venganza Rodríguez’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Emmy-winning filmmaker and showrunner Jorge Gutiérrez has recruited a powerhouse trio of familiar voice talent for a five-minute proof of concept trailer for his proposed independent animated feature La Venganza Rodríguez, currently in development at Spain’s Hampa Studio.

Newly announced cast members include Cheech Marin (The Book of Life, Maya and the Three), Teresa Ruiz (Narcos: Mexico, Batman Azteca), and Danny Trejo (The Book of Life, Maya and the Three). Gutierrez also gave us a look at some unreleased artwork from the project, which is featured throughout this article.

The adult-aimed action dramedy follows 18-year-old Leonora Rodríguez (Ruiz), who — after tragedy strikes her once-famed wrestling family — must enter the ring to reclaim their honor. With unorthodox training, electrifying style, and plenty of vengeful fury, Leonora battles a gallery of extravagant rivals on a collision course with her ultimate nemesis.

Fun fact: “Our luchadora is named La Venganza Rodríguez as an homage to Robert Rodriguez since he’s been such a huge inspiration to me,” Gutiérrez tells us.

Leonora grew up in the shadow of legendary luchadores – her father and brother both wrestled – while quietly burying her own dream of entering the ring. After witnessing their brutal deaths at the hands of El Super Muerto Infernal, she sheds her obedient past and forges a new identity: La Venganza Rodríguez, a fierce, relentless fighter driven by grief, fury, and destiny.

Marin plays Don Madrazo, a once-respected Spanish doctor who fled Franco’s regime and rebuilt his life in Mexico, only to lose it again to vice, tequila, and the unforgiving streets of Tijuana. Reduced to stitching up underground fighters in blood-soaked backrooms, he finds unexpected redemption the night he saves young Leonora from El Super Muerto Infernal.

Trejo voices the brooding antagonist, El Super Muerto Infernal, a monstrous, exiled luchador whose brutality proved too extreme even for the underworld that once celebrated him. Banished from legitimate wrestling and reborn in Tijuana’s clandestine pits, he delivers ritualized violence to roaring crowds.

Gutiérrez tells us the film is a “hilariously crazy and violent love letter to my beloved Tijuana, ‘80s Mexploitation border cinema, Lucha Libre, Picasso, Basquiat, and fighting video games.” The project marks a return to independent filmmaking for the director after several years in the U.S. studio system, and one of his most adult-oriented proposal so far.

The director once again collaborates with his wife and favorite screenwriter, Sandra Equihua (El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, Maya and the Three); Emmy-winner Almu Redondo (Star Wars: Visions); Pakoto Martinez (The Book of Life, Maya and the Three); Gustavo Cosío (Son of Jaguar, Maya and the Three), artistic duo Awesombrosos (Sebastián and Diego Ramirez), Esteban Pedrozo (Ultraman: Rising), Marta Ruiperez, and Myra Lopez (We the People, Maya and the Three).

Earlier this year, La Venganza Rodríguez was selected for Ibermedia Next, securing up to €150,000 in development support as one of 15 projects recognized for innovation and bold storytelling. The next step is to finish the trailer and start pitching potential partners for the feature.