The long-awaited sequel to Sin City, titled "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For", will be released on October 4th 2013. Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba have both signed on to reprise their characters, Marv and barmaid Nancy Callahan respectively. Rodriguez has been trying for years to produce a sequel to the 2005 film, which saw him adapt three storylines from Frank Millers graphic novel series of the same name, with Miller sharing writing and directing duties. That film starred a large A-list cast, including Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett and Michael Madsen, and interweaved the three stories, The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard, into one narrative. The film was well-received both commercially and critically. Speaking to Empire, Rodriguez states that the film will be even more stylised than the first, aiming to more closely translate Millers work to the screen:
I really held back the first time, because I didnt know whether audiences would go for it. So it ended up looking like a real movie, but in black and white, with a few flourishes. This one is going to push way further towards the books. Its going to shock and surprise people.
Rodriguez and Miller have long talked about adapting A Dame To Kill For, one of the remaining storylines in the Sin City canon, which involves both Rourke and Owens characters, although there is currently no confirmation as to whether Owen will return to the role of Dwight. The storyline also includes the art of Ava, the titular Dame, a role that has been linked to Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Rose McGowan and Rachel Weisz. Rodriguez explains:
Its a great part for any actress. Shes completely diabolical with no mercy. Shes as evil as evil gets.
As yet, no further cast members have been announced, although there are several smaller roles from the first film that might see returning cast members, and Rodriguez himself states he is currently talking to some seriously big names. At one stage, Johnny Depp was apparently in talks to take the role of Wallace, a short order cook/war hero, which would have meant the adaptation of the storyline Hell and Back into the film, but whether this is still the case remains to be seen. The film will be produced by Rodriguezs Troublemaker Studios, and will be distributed by Dimension films. Miller and Rodriguez wrote the script, which was rewritten by William Monahan, the Oscar-winning writer of "The Departed". While this does seem like actual movement, the film has been through enough turbulence up to this stage to suggest it might be worth waiting before getting too excited about returning to the Sin City universe. With Rodriguez currently working on the follow-up to the underwhelming Grindhouse-styled Machete, titled "Machete Kills", and Miller being responsible for the terrible Sin City-knock off "The Spirit", it is probably sensible to save the celebrations until further news is announced. "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" will be released on October 4th, 2013.