As is the tradition with all Hollywood fare these days, if you have a sure-fire smash on your hands, the sequel will follow. Normally, though, these normally occur when the studio has a sure-fire, guaranteed money-making smash on their hands.
However, studios these days seem to have developed a touch of chest hair, taking chances even on as-yet unreleased flick. The latest of these is Frank Miller‘s Sin City – the film has barely received its UK premiere, but director Robert Rodriguez (DVDs) has already confirmed that not only is a sequel on the cards, he has already started work on it.
For
the uninitiated, Sin City is based on a series of (extremely)
Graphic Novels by comic book writer Frank Miller. Set in a
crime-invested metropolis, and shot entirely in black and white to reflect the
comic’s ‘film noir’ style, the movie stars Bruce Willis (DVDs) as a cop framed
for a crime he didn’t commit (that old chestnut). Back-from-the-gutter-and-onto-the-big-screen Mickey Rouke (DVDs) also stars as a vengeful, tough-as-nails streetfighter out to find those responsible for the death of his one true love (aah, how romantic).
Already
being touted as the best comic book film ever (until, that is, the next
one comes along), it is probably no surprise that the studio bigwigs
want to cash in on the expected rewards this flick is sure to reap in.
And Rodriguez seems inclined to agree. The director has already stated that most of the characters will return when he adapts the storyline A Dame to Kill For, as summarised by Dark Horse:
"It’s one of those hot nights, dry and windless. The kind that makes people do sweaty, secret things. Dwight’s (played by Clive Owen)
thinking of all the ways he’s screwed up and what he’d give for one
clear chance to wipe the slate clean, to dig his way out of the numb
grey hell that is his life. And he’d give anything. Just to cut loose.
Just to feel the fire. One more time."
The
first film has already been premiered at Cannes, and has been hailed a
triumph by critics and fans alike. It is due out here June 3rd.
[story by James Hickey]