Co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are bringing "Sin City" back to movie screensProduction is finally set to begin on the long-awaited sequel to 2005's "Sin City," co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller announced this afternoon. Casting is scheduled to start next week, with many of the original actors expected to return.

"The first 'Sin City' knocked out audiences who had never seen anything like it before," Miller said in a statement. "Robert Rodriguez and I are going to shake things up and deliver a ferocious film experience that is going to go even further than the first."

Titled "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," the film is based on the 1993 second volume of Miller's neo-noir comic series published by Dark Horse Comics. Although few details have been revealed, it's believed the sequel will follow the format of the original, combining two new stories with adaptations of previously published work. The screenplay is by Miller and Academy Award winner William Monohan ("The Departed").

"The first question I am always asked is 'When will you make another 'Sin City?'" Rodriquez said. "I have wanted to re-team with Frank Miller and return to the world he created since the day we wrapped the original, but have felt a duty to the fans to wait until we had something truly exceptional that would meet and exceed what have become epic expectations. 'A Dame to Kill For' will certainly be worth the wait."

The project will be produced through AR Films U.S. and distributed domestically by Dimension Films. Production is expected to begin this summer at Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios in Austin, TX.

"Sin City," which had an estimated budget of $40 million and grossed nearly $159 million worldwide, starred Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Rutger Hauer, Carla Gugino, Michael Madsen and Nick Stahl.

Stay tuned to CBR News and Spinoff Online for more on "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For."