Robert Rodriguez, the filmmaker behind the Spy Kids and El Mariachi franchises and co-director of Sin City with comic book creator Frank Miller, told an audience at the SXSW Film Festival that the second Sin City film, long in development and often “coming very soon,” is likely to begin filming this summer.

it’s unclear who will return for the film, although earlier comments by the filmmaker suggested that Jessica Alba’s character would play a major role in it. The first film was co-written and co-directed by Frank Miller, who created the comic book series and subsequently used many of the same approaches he picked up making Sin City to direct the 2008 flop The Spirit.

Ever since the sequel was announced, it has been suggested that Frank Miller would write new material for the film so that all or part of it would not be based on existing comic books. The writer is doing something similar with Xerxes, his follow-up graphic novel to 300, which was created specifically so that it could be made into a film and which is currently in pre-production as 300: Battle of Artemisia.

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