After about seven years during which promises of an imminent Sin City sequel started making co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller seem sort of like broke dads promising their kids a rollercoaster in the backyard, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is actually happening.  Or at least, it's more likely than it has ever been.  Today, Dimension Films officially announced an October 2, 2013 release date for the sequel, and also confirmed that stars Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba are committed to return.

So apparently a sequel to Sin City is actually going into production this summer, after seven years of seemingly endless promises and well past the point at which it seemed it would never happen.  The official announcement for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was a week ago today, and with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller set to direct again, there are plenty of questions, including, "Really?  No, really?  This is happening?"  Another is, of course, just who will return from the 2005 film.

It's been seven years since Sin City set a new standard for fidelity in adapting a comic book, with co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller basically using Miller's influential hyper-noir comics as storyboards for the audacious, green-screen intensive production.  Talk of a sequel taking on more of Miller's work began almost immediately, the directors have been promising that it will happen almost ceaseless for the better part of a decade with nothing to show for it.  But it's actually going to go down now.  Really.

This week we found out that Machete Kills, the sequel to 2010's exasperatingly over the top Machete, is tentatively set to begin production in April under the direction of Robert Rodriguez, who is partnering with producer Alexander Rodnyansky on the sure to be ridiculous enterprise. 

Danny Trejo is in talks to reprise the title role, and today there's further proof that Machete Kills is close to becoming an actual movie, thanks to some sales artwork that's made its way online.

Way back in July of last year, Robert Rodriguez made mention of a couple sequels during his panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.  The endlessly-discussed Sin City 2 came up, of course, but the man behind Troublemaker Studios also said that we'll soon be seeing a sequel to 2010's Machete, and it will be the second in a planned trilogy that culminates with Danny Trejo's one-man army venturing into space.  Now, it looks like Machete Kills is coming together, with an April production start tentatively planned.

2005's Sin City set a new precedent for faithful comic book adaptations, with co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller essentially using Miller's hyper-noir black and white books as storyboards for the outrageously violent interconnecting tales from Basin City.  Of the many strange characters populating Miller's world, perhaps the most over-the-top and popular is Marv, an unstoppable simpleton played by Mickey Rourke in the segment titled "The Hard Goodbye."  Though Marv met his end in that story, the fractured chronology of the first film would allow Marv to have another adventure in Sin City 2, the sequel that Rodriguez and Miller have been promising for the last six years.  Rourke, a notoriously eccentric and forthright actor, isn't so sure he'll back, however.

In 2005, Sin City brought the hyper-noir comic books written and illustrated by Frank Miller, whose artistic contribution to the medium has been incalculable, to the screen as easily the most faithful comic book movie made before or since.  As co-directed by Miller and El Mariachi helmer Robert Rodriguez, the black-and-white world of Basin City came to screamingly ludicrous life, complete with over-the-top violence, hard-boiled dialogue, and dangerous, dizzy dames aplenty. 

Two such dames were played by Jaime King, the lovely and talented model-turned actress who stars alongside Rachel Bilson in the upcoming television series Heart of Dixie.  In Sin City, she played the doomed Goldie, as well as her determined twin sister Wendy.  IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick had the chance to chat with King last night at a party in Hollywood celebrating X-Men: First Class, which was released on Blu-ray and DVD today. The talented actress provided an update on the perpetually-in-development sequel Sin City 2 and confirmed that she'll have a role in the next installment, if and when it actually becomes a reality.

In the six years since Sin City first cartoonishly brought the black and white ultraviolence and hyper-noir tough guys of Frank Miller's comics to cinemas everywhere, the hope for a sequel has persisted.  Every few months, either Miller of co-director Robert Rodriguez will provide a usually positive update indicating that Sin City 2 could very well be right around the corner, but for six years, the project hasn't come together.  Following another round of hopeful talk from Rodriguez in July, Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan has come aboard Sin City 2 to polish the script.

Robert Rodriguez has been talking up a potential sequel to Sin City since very shortly after the first film debuted in 2005.  For the last half-decade, he and co-director Frank Miller will offer a hopeful update on Sin City 2 seemingly ever few months, and the would-be movie is almost always tantalizingly close to production, according to the independently-minded director and medium-redefining comic book writer/artist.  It should come as no surprise, then, that at his Comic-Con panel today, Rodriguez made some optimistic statements about Sin City 2.  What might be a bit more surprising, however, is that he also announced two Machete sequels, Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again.  There's more, though: Rodriguez is now behind the latest attempt at a new version of Heavy Metal.

Next week, Comic-Con International comes to San Diego, and genre enthusiasts from the world over will make the pilgrimage to Southern California like the faithful making the Hajj to Mecca.  Rather than pray before the Ka'Bah, though, comic book, film, and video game fans of every stripe will have access to the creators of their favorite properties, while also basking in the commercial possibilities of Con floor and, of course, marveling at some of the world's most intense and outlandish cosplay.  The biggest attractions at San Diego Comic-Con, though, are the abundant panel events, with comics luminaries and filmmaking professionals on hand to discuss their work.  While IAR will be reporting from all over the Con, we won't be able to cover every panel, so we're providing selected schedules for each day, showcasing those panels that would be of particular interest.