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Robert Rodriguez was on the roof of the Cannes JW Marriott the other day talking about the two sequels next on his plate: “Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For” and “Machete Kills,” which he’ll shoot first, starting in the next few weeks.
The Austin-based filmmaker says he started looking for the money for “Sin City 2” at the end of last year while still making his final push on the long-in-development script. With the investors in place, he was able to bring in William Monahan ('The Departed') to help with two new stories which have been added to the sequel and aren’t part of Frank Miller’s original novels (although Miller generated the ideas and took a first pass). “I wanted to hire somebody really great to come in on this,” he says. “People have been waiting for this movie for so long, we can’t miss.”
The titular “Dame To Kill For” is fashioned as the ultimate femme fatale and a fantastic role for any actress to play. Angelina Jolie and Rachel Weisz have both been linked to the Dame in the past, although Rodriguez won’t say who he has in mind now. “She is completely diabolical with no mercy,” he says. “People love that story so much.”
Having held back on the original in terms of stylization because he wasn’t sure how much movie audiences would accept, Rodriguez says he’s planning to go to town with the sequel. “I know we can go further,” he says. “The audience wants more and they’ll definitely get what they want.”
He’s also planning a similar ramping-up with “Machete Kills” (“10 times the first one…”), although he admits the first synopsis released was a fake. “We had to put out something,” he laughs. No, Machete won’t be battling a cartel leader threatening to launch a deadly missile; but yes, there will be “a space element,” he will be recruited by the American President and Mel Gibson will be playing a “James Bond-style” villain. “At first, I was only going to produce and then I was only going to direct certain scenes but the script kept getting so good, I decided to do the whole movie,” he says. “I know exactly how it needs to be done in order to come off right.”
The Weinstein Company has US distribution rights on “Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For” and have scheduled it for release on October 4, 2013. 'Machete Kills' has yet to be scheduled. | 
