In 2005, two movies came out that forced me to the theater several times – and neither of them took place in a ‘galaxy far far away’. They were of course Batman Begins, which I saw four times and further solidified my love for Gary Oldman, and Sin City, which I attended three days in a row opening weekend.

As soon as the movie started with Josh Hartnett’s voice-over, I loved everything about it.  From the visuals, the way Marv flung people through windows, to Brittany Murphy’s 1940s style delivery and Jessica Alba as a stripper; it was entirely amazing. Rumors about a sequel started almost immediately after that and it seemed like we were in for a whole franchise. Flash forward seven years and things are just now moving forward and out of the rumor stage.

First off, the story. This movie will draw on A Dame to Kill For as its central plot. Dame follows Dwight, a photographer who works the divorce racket, snapping shots of cheating husbands and whatnot. That is until he gets sucked into scandal himself with his ex Ava. I don’t want to spoil anything, but several characters from the first movie will pop back up in this one.

The returning cast will include Bruce Willis, Michael Madsen, Rosario Dawson, Jamie King, Mickey Rourke, and Jessica Alba. In addition, there have been several new casting decisions made. Let’s start with the replacements.

In the first movie, Clive Owen played Dwight and Shellie makes mention of him being back with a new face. That is due to the fact that during the events of Dame, he is forced to change his looks. So, this story, taking place before the last one will feature Dwight with his old face – that of Josh Brolin.

*Brolin Pic from Skinny Glasses

The other replacement comes in the form of Manute. Originally played by the now deceased Michael Clarke Duncan, the role will be taken over by Former President of the United States David Palmer, also known as Dennis Haysbert.

“Manute is a character that has been part of the heart of the Sin City tales, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan beautifully established that role onscreen,” said Rodriguez and Miller in a statement to Heat Vision. “We could not tell the story of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For without Manute and are thrilled to welcome Dennis Haysbert to the cast.”

Manute actually plays a much larger role in this story then he did in the last movie so recasting was necessary. It isn’t a minor role that could just be cut out or anything and I love the choice. Haysbert is an underrated actor and my favorite TV President ever.

The final casting replacement we have to report is that of the deadly assassin Miho. Miho was played in 2005 by actress Devon Aoki, and will now be portrayed by Jamie Chung. Not sure the reason for the change here except that Aoki hasn’t acted since 2009 and recently had a baby, so perhaps she just didn’t want to return.

That handles the returning cast (announced so far) and the replacements. There is still plenty more to report though, so we’ll move onto the new additions.

First off, Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) and Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises) will be joining the cast. It’s not clear who they will be playing yet, but in addition to the Dame plot, the movie will also draw from some of the other Sin City novels, as well as some original stuff Miller is writing for the screen. In the video, he also mentions Jeremy Piven (Grosse Pointe Blank), who has always been one of my favorite character actors. He and Liotta are great, while Juno Temple I have no strong feeling towards one way or another, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.

The next group confirmed includes three more “as yet to be named” characters. Julia Garner (Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Alexa Vega (Rodriguez’s Spy Kids movies) I would guess will (likely along with Juno Temple) play some of the girls from Old Town. Meanwhile Law and Order: SVU fans will see their beloved Stabler (Christopher Meloni) playing one of Sin City’s numerous dirty cops. Christopher Meloni is a great actor and I’ve been a fan of his going back to the days of HBO’s Oz.

So that brings us to the big ones. The additions that are getting the most attention is probably the casting of Joseph Gordon Levitt. Yeah, JGL is everywhere lately – from The Dark Knight Rises to Inception to Looper and Lincoln – this guy is everywhere. His appearance in Sin City 2 however, likely crushes the rumors of his appearing in Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. Levitt will play a gambler who gets in over his head, which is never good news in Basin City.

The big news however is the casting of ‘The Dame’, the title subject. For years it was rumored to be Angelina Jolie, and had the movie been made in 2006 or so, she no doubt would’ve been the choice. This is 2013 however, and while she is running around with all those kids she and Brad Pitt bought, we’ll get to gaze upon another beauty. A real staff favorite around here, one-time Bond girl and all around hottie – MS. EVA GREEN!

Eva will play Ava Lord, the temptress that lures Dwight into the fray and sets in motion the events of the story that follow. She is the catalyst of the story and is in the truest sense, an old school noir femme fatale.

So that’s what we’ve got so far. The long awaited sequel is set for release October 4th of this year, and is for sure on my list of must sees.

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IMAGES: Dark Horse Comics, Dimension Films