Category Archives: Movie Adaptations

Bryan Singer Talks X-Men: Days of Future Past

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Bryan Singer, the director of the upcoming film X-Men: Days of Future Past, recently discussed the new project and why it is his most ambitious one yet. One of the reasons it is so highly anticipated is that both casts of from the original X-Men films and the most recent X-Men: First Class will appear. Singer talked about X-Men: Days of Future Past in an interview with Empire.

When speaking about the sheer magnitude of the film and those involved, Singer mentioned how it was to work with both casts of the previous films as well as the ideas of time travel!

It’s epic. I don’t think people realize how big this movie’s going to be. We get to bring both casts together. We’ve cracked it in a way that it makes sense. I had a two-hour conversation with James Cameron about time travel, string theory, multiverses and all that. You have to create your rules and stick with them. That’s why Terminator and Back To The Future work so well. And there are certain mechanisms in X-Men, certain powers, perceptions and characters, that make this possible.”

In prospect of the combination cast, Singer addressed fans concerns that film will not adhere to the original source material.

It has a lot of aspects of the comic. The actual comic of Days Of Future Past had a whole ton of stuff going on, so it’s like any of these things; you have to distill it. But I think the fans will be pleased that some of the most exciting parts of Days Of Future Past are going to be connected to this movie.”

One of the major worries about X-Men: Days of Future Past has to do with continuity. Fans wonder whether the film will acknowledge the events of the previous films due to continuity issues, but Singer assures that every film in the series will be taken into account as canon.

“I’m taking into account every movie – I’m not just grabbing my first two movies and First Class and smashing them together. I’m taking into account the entire universe as it’s been laid out so far on the screen, and really respecting it and trying to work with that. People took things in various directions, so there’s some clean-up. But ultimately I’m not just ignoring them either.”

X-Men: Days of Future Past will hit theaters on July 18, 2014. Confirmed cast members for the film include Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore and Hugh Jackman.

Oliver Twist To Become “Olivia Twisted” Through CBS Films

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Let’s forgo the obvious pun and just say that CBS Films has decided to take a different approach when deciding to adapt the classic novel “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens. The company has officially optioned Michael Roberts’ screenplay entitled, Olivia Twisted.

Roberts used the classic novel to create a hyper-real, gothic city type tale with its primary focus being a young woman named Olivia. However, she isn’t an ordinary woman. Olivia is part of a highly trained gang of street kids ranging in age from 6 to 19 who work for a criminal named Fagin. When the gang takes on a kidnapping job, it lands in the middle of a turf war between the city’s two major kingpins.

One of the draws of this particular adaptation is the fact that it plans to focus on the beautifully choreographed action scenes and setting as seen from the eyes of the former stuntman. The project is the debut script for Roberts, who broke into the business as a stuntman for TV shows including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Alias” before an injury prompted a career change.

Michael De Luca and Michael De Luca Productions’ Alissa Phillips are attached to produce.

There is no word on a projected date for production or who they want to star in this gritty re-imagining.

Ron Howard Eyes Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book Adaptation

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It was announced last summer that Neil Gaiman would be adapting his 2008 Newberry Medal winner novel, “The Graveyard Book.” Disney bought the movie rights after several years of attempts by different studios to adapt the novel. Now, the big screen adaptation has seemingly found a new director in Ron Howard.

Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 classic “The Jungle Book,” Gaiman’s novel is officially described as follows:

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren’t really one thing or the other.

This will be Gaiman’s third film, preceded by 2009’s Coraline and 2007’s Stardust, both of which received positive reviews. Gaiman also has a television series in the works with HBO based on his novel American Gods. His two movie adaptations have both received relative success in the box office as well. Coraline has an IMDb rating of 7.7 out of 10 and Stardust received a 7.8.

Henry Selick had plans to adapt The Graveyard Book as a stop-motion feature for Walt Disney Pictures, but the new vision of the project has it moving forward as a live-action film. There is no word on when they expect this adaptation to move forward into production or who they wish to star in the feature. However, with Ron Howard at the helm, the movie appears to be in good hands.

Before You See the Movie…Read the Book!

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Our sister site, BSCkids, recently discussed the merits of reading the book first before watching some of this year’s most anticipated films including Warm Bodies, The Host, and Catching Fire. Here we discussed some of the more adult films coming out this year including The Hobbit and Gatsby. 

In general, film industry executives and production companies are more willing to finance movies that are based on books, since such projects automatically come with a built-in audience. 2013 proves to be no exception to this rule, as numerous page-to-screen adaptations, most of which are geared towards teenagers and young adults, are slated to premiere this year.

While it may be easier (and undoubtedly less time-consuming) to simply wait for the movies to open in a multiplex near you, you would be doing yourself a severe disservice and missing out on much of what makes these popular stories truly great. Cinema and literature are both art forms, and as such, are capable of expressing and conveying different aspects of the human condition. Film allows you to see fantastic worlds and iconic characters brought to life on screen, but it also presents a very narrow depiction of a story – by necessity, only one person’s vision can be immortalized on celluloid at any one time, and all too often, a director’s Sirius Black or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry looks nothing like the one you pictured in your mind the very first time you read a Harry Potter book. Where movies enable the audience to quite literally sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, literature encourages readers to become active participants in the story, rather than mere bystanders. With books, you never have to press pause in order to go back and re-analyze a particularly mysterious moment, and there is nothing stopping you from reading a favorite scene over and over, delighting in the clever dialogue and beautiful imagery on the page. Books also have no fixed length, unlike movies, most of which run around an hour and a half long, and can thus go into more detail, focusing on background characters and subtleties that truly bring the fictional world of the story to life. For all these reasons, children and teenagers who are excited about 2013’s upcoming movies should make the time to hit up their local bookstore or library before going to the movie theaters. Try reading one of the suggested books below before you watch the film version, and see for yourself how much richer the experience becomes!

The-Hobbit-Part-1The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is a quick-read of a fantasy novel that chronicles the exploits of a wizard, a band of mischievous dwarves, and a little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. The book, much lighter in tone and style than Tolkien’s master saga The Lord of the Rings, is relatively short (at least by Tolkien’s standards), with a page count of around 300 pages.Most readers will be able to finish the novel in less time than it takes them to watch one of Peter Jackson’s sprawling, three-hour-long epic adaptations on film. Young children will love the antics of the dwarves in The Hobbit and will identify with Bilbo, a fun-loving hobbit fond of food and creature comforts, while older readers will enjoy meeting the character of Gollum for the first time and analyzing the ways in which the events in the book lead up to and foreshadow the darker tale of The Lord of the Rings. The second film in director Peter Jackson’s Hobbit prequel trilogy, entitled The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, opens on December 13, 2013.

The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby appears on most high school required reading lists for a reason – although it was first published in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel remains one of the most searing, heartbreaking depictions of love, loss, and the deception of the American dream ever to appear in print. The Great Gatsby so fully transports readers back to 1922 Long Island that, for the duration of the book, you find yourself half-believing that you are physically in the middle of one of Jay Gatsby’s infamously extravagant parties, surrounded by the smell of illegally-obtained gin and the swinging blare of jazz horns. Although young children will not easily grasp the subject matter or antiquated language of the novel, teenagers and advanced readers will be raptly drawn into Fitzgerald’s lively portrayal of the Roaring Twenties, and will identify with the book’s themes of social stratification, shifting gender roles, obsession, and disillusionment, themes that are readily recognizable to a generation of young people inheriting a world facing economic collapse, an increased gap between those that have and those that do not, and a growing sense of disenchantment with the supposed American “dream” of material wealth and mass consumption that has been handed down to them. Director Baz Luhrmann’s movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby opens on May 10, 2013.

And in case you missed here:

catching-fireCatching Fire is the second book in Suzanne Collins’ best-selling Hunger Games trilogy, and should not be missed by anyone planning on viewing the film. The book goes into far more detail than will be possible to explore in the movie’s short time span, introducing not only the entire resistance movement dedicated to overthrowing the Capitol but also a variety of fascinating, extremely complex adult characters like Finnick Odair, Annie Cresta, and Johanna Mason, all previous Victors of the sadistic Hunger Games who are still struggling to deal with the ramifications of winning. The novel is full of intense action sequences tempered by pivotal, oftentimes touching interpersonal moments crucial to heroine Katniss Everdeen’s individual growth as well as her changing relationships with Peeta, Gale, her mother, her little sister Prim, and her stylist Cinna. Catching Fire, as a book, is able to dig into a Panem that is darker and more complicated than the one portrayed in the PG-13 film version, and older readers will be attracted to the gritty reality that appears below the polished surface of the glitzy Capitol. The film version, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, opens on November 22, 2013.

James Ponsoldt Signs On To Write and Direct The Big Screen Adaptation of Pure

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James Ponsoldt has officially signed on to write and direct Fox 2000’s upcoming film adaptation, Pure, based on the novel of the same name written by Julianna Baggott. The novel is the first in a planned trilogy and is set to be released in early 2012.

“Pure” has an official plot summary that follows:

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it’s his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

Karen Rosenfelt is attached to produce the film version. There is no word yet on when the film is expected to be underway or a projected release date for the completed film.

You can check out a trailer for the novel itself in the player below:

Homer’s Odyssey Heads To Space With Sci-Fi Adaptation

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We’ve seen Odysseus be pretty much a badass in all major settings except the final frontier (that’s right, I said it and I am not ashamed.) Warner Bros. is FINALLY making Homer’s awesomely epic epic, The Odyssey, into a science fiction film. The studio has officially hired James DiLapo to write the script to the futuristic remaining. Warner Bros has also put in place a blind writing deal behind the project to keep him in the studio fold.

High school english just wasn’t complete till you read Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey both of which have been previously adapted and most likely viewed by you. The Iliad was adapted into the Wolfgang Petersen-directed Troy, which starred Brad Pitt as Achilles. The Odyssey was most famously adapted in 1997 starring Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Irene Pappas, Isabella Rossellini, Bernadette Peters,Christopher Lee, and Vanessa L. Williams.

The Odyssey centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors who compete for Penelope’s hand in marriage.

Terry Dougas of 1821 Pictures hatched the idea of setting the tale in space and he and cohort Paris Kasidokostas Latsis brought the idea to the studio. The project got kickstarted with the pitch by DiLapo. The studio now sees it as a potential franchise and it’s being steered by Greg Silverman and Courtenay Valenti and Racheline Benveniste.

There is no word yet on when the project is expected to begin production or who they want to star in the epic. How they will adapt the story for a space/futuristic setting will be interesting to see but not to difficult given the universal themes that makes the story relatable throughout the ages.

The Taming of the Shrew Adaptation Secures Anne Hathaway

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Since staring in Les Miserables, Anne Hathaway seems to be jumping on the classic literature remake bandwagon. Rumor has it that the Hathaway is set to star in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the William Shakespeare play, “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Rather than a straight forward period film, the project will be a modern-day retelling of the play set in mid-20th century Italy. Considering this will be set in a more current time frame, the question remains of whether or not this retelling will retain the misogynistic elements of mens control over women and the desire to have a compliant and obedient wife remain. It is the 20th century after all and women have finally been given permission to have free will, right? That’s a thing right?

In case you didn’t read this on your own or in 11th grade english class, “The Taming of the Shrew” follows the tale of two sisters. One unsurprisingly more lovely than the other. The story depicts the utter gentlemen, Petruchio, as he attempts to court and marry the headstrong and titular “shrew” that is Katherina. Considering the fact that she didn’t choose Petruchio as a suitor, she is understandably an unwilling participant in the relationship. However, through “taming” and the various psychological torments that is the definition of true love, Katherina becomes the obedient bride every man desires. There is also a subplot featuring the hotter sister and a competition of men vying for her attention and thusly her hand in marriage.

Us women need some taming by the men in our lives in order to find someone who is willing to deal with our hysteria, amiright? Forget those old ideals of true love and happiness, that takes a whole lot of work after all. Just marry us off to some dick who will deny us food and water while physically and emotionally humiliating us in front of our friends and family at our wedding and then hence forth the rest of our lives. It’s every girls dream, right?

What a great tale! My hopes are that this modern-day retelling is more closely related to 10 Things I Hate About You rather than the actual play.

Abi Morgan has signed on to script the adaptation. The project will be produced by Debra Hayward and Working Title, another individual with knowledge of the film told TheWrap.

“The Taming of the Shrew” was famously adapted in 1967 staring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Another adaptation, also a modern-day retelling, was released in 1999 in the form of 10 Things I Hate About You starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.

The casting of Hathaway is only a rumor at this point as Universal, Working Title and Hathaway’s representatives at CAA all declined to comment on the project.

Character Guide To Oz The Great And Powerful

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Walt Disney is preparing for the release of their upcoming film, Oz The Great and Powerful based on the novels by L. Frank Baum (such as the most notable, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”) by releasing an official character guide to the film.

The film follows Diggs (Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, who is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. He thinks he’s hit the jackpot and that fame and fortune are his for the taking — that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz) and Glinda (Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity — and even a bit of wizardry — Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Below, you can check out a guide to some of the incredible characters set to soon hit the big screen, paired against original passages from Baum’s first book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

OZ (OSCAR DIGGS)

James Franco

“Well, one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted, so that I couldn’t come down again. It went way up above the clouds, so far that a current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles away. For a day and a night I traveled through the air, and on the morning of the second day I awoke and found the balloon floating over a strange and beautiful country.” – Oz

Oscar Diggs, aka Oz, is a small-time magician who takes his magic act on the road as part of a traveling circus in the Midwest. A man with dubious ethics, Oz is a handsome, charming charlatan who is skilled at smooth-talking his way out of problems. When he is hurled into the magical Land of Oz, Oscar faces a fight-or-flight dilemma that holds the fate of a kingdom in the balance, forcing him to decide what kind of man he truly is before it is too late.

THEODORA

Mila Kunis

“In the civilized countries I believe there are no witches left, nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are cut off from the rest of the world. Therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us.” – Glinda

Theodora is a beautiful, naïve witch who is protected by her powerful sister Evanora. Theodora only wants peace to come to the Land of Oz and truly believes that a prophesied wizard will arrive someday to restore order.

EVANORA

Rachel Weisz

“One of my greatest fears was the Witches, for while I had no magical powers at all I soon found out that the Witches were really able to do wonderful things.” – Oz

A witch to be feared, Evanora is Theodora’s over-protective sister. With her penetrating gaze, she exudes a powerful presence and has positioned herself as the royal advisor and protector of Emerald City.

GLINDA

Michelle Williams

“The Witch of the South. She is the most powerful of all the Witches, and rules over the Quadlings… She is kind to everyone. I have heard that Glinda is a beautiful woman, who knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived.” – Soldier

Glinda is a good witch who rules over a peaceful kingdom of simple, kind folk. Beautiful Glinda is not only a compassionate and benevolent witch, but also a fierce protector of her people. Though Glinda sees through Oz’s façade early on, she knows genuine goodness lies within and helps Oz achieve his true destiny.

CHINA GIRL

Joey King (voice)

“But the strangest of all were the people who lived in this queer country. There were milkmaids and shepherdesses, with brightly colored bodices and golden spots all over their gowns; and princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple; and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; and princes with jeweled crowns upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satin doublets; and funny clowns in ruffled gowns, with round red spots upon their cheeks and tall, pointed caps. And, strangest of all, these people were all made of china, even to their clothes, and were so small that the tallest of them was no higher than Dorothy’s knee.”

China Girl is from the village of China Town, where everything, including the inhabitants, is made of china. When destruction befalls her land, the brave, resilient China Girl encounters Oz and they strike up an unlikely friendship.

FINLEY

Zach Braff (voice)

“But if you are going to call the Winged Monkeys we must run away, for they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us.” – Oz

The Queen of the MiceFinley is a winged monkey that accompanies Oz on his journey. Finley doesn’t have a high opinion of Oscar and lets him know it. Ultimately he becomes a loyal ally and helps Oz discover his true self.

FRANK

Zach Braff

“I do not know where Kansas is, for I have never heard that country mentioned before. But tell me, is it a civilized country?” – Glinda

Frank is Oz’s assistant and right-hand man—he’s the money handler, costume mender and prop wrangler for Oz’s magic act. Frank is put upon and underappreciated but is Oz’s only friend.

KNUCK

Tony Cox

“I am the Guardian of the Gates, and since you demand to see the Great Oz I must take you to his Palace. But first you must put on the spectacles… [I]f you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of the Emerald City would blind you. Even those who live in the City must wear spectacles night and day. They are all locked on, for Oz so ordered it when the City was first built, and I have the only key that will unlock them.”– The Guardian of the Gates

Knuck is a dour, unsmiling Munchkin, who, as the Herald of Emerald City, announces all the visitors. Despite his cantankerous demeanor, he is loyal to Glinda and thus reluctantly becomes Oz’s ally.

WINKIES

“The Winkies were very kind to me, and wanted me to rule over them after the Wicked Witch died. I am fond of the Winkies, and if I could get back again to the Country of the West, I should like nothing better than to rule over them forever.” – The Tin Woodman

The Winkies are the formidable, spear-carrying, 8-foot tall, uniformed guards of Emerald City under the command of Evanora.

QUADLINGS

“The country of the Quadlings seemed rich and happy. There was field upon field of ripening grain, with well-paved roads running between, and pretty rippling brooks with strong bridges across them. The fences and houses and bridges were all painted bright red, just as they had been painted yellow in the country of the Winkies and blue in the country of the Munchkins. The Quadlings themselves, who were short and fat and looked chubby and good-natured, were dressed all in red, which showed bright against the green grass and the yellowing grain.”

The Quadlings are inhabitants of Glinda’s kingdom. They are kind-hearted, simple country folk who are mostly farmers.

MUNCHKINS

While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.

The Munchkins are giggling, happy little people, who live peaceful lives singing and making pretty clothes. Though they don’t have a care in the world, they are loyal to Glinda and do their best to help her if and when she needs them.

The upcoming film version, opening in North American theaters on March 8 and Australia on March 7, tells the story of how the wizard, Oscar Diggs, came to Oz (a story never told in any of the books). The movie is directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) and stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff and Joey King.

Steven Spielberg Promises Robopocalypse Isn’t Dead

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It has been months since we have had an update regarding the big screen adaptation of “Robopocalypse,” the New York Times best-selling science fiction book by Daniel H. Wilson. The project was announced last year and has since been buried with some wondering if the Steven Spielberg project was dead.

Thankfully, the killer robots are still set to destroy mankind it just may be a little further down the line then initially anticipated. Spielberg initially made the announcement that his sic-fi adaptation, which he had planned to begin shooting this summer for a debut in April 2014, had been put on hold, with no details on when — or if — it might come back on the calendar. It seemed for sure that the anticipated project was heading for the cutting room floor before it even had a chance.

However, Spielberg has said that the films demise is not quite what the reporters are saying. Robopocalypse was reportedly set to begin filming using a script by Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard, and Anne Hathaway and Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth planning to star. Spielberg assured fans that the project is far from dead and that he merely taking his time with the film.

“We found that the film was costing a lot of money and I found a better way to tell the story more economically but also much more personally,” Spielberg said. “I found the personal way into Robopocalypse, and so I just told everybody to go find other jobs, I’m starting on a new script and we’ll have this movie back on its feet soon.”

There is no projected release date for the big screen adaptation but Spielberg estimates that the delay will only set the film back about six to eight months. He even went on to assure that he is working on the script right now with no intentions to drop the film.

“Not at all. I’m working on it as we speak,” he said.

Casting Update For Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

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This week has been flush with casting news regarding the upcoming Sin City sequel, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. The film  was developed by Frank Miller based upon his graphic novel, with a screenplay by Miller. It is being produced by Robert Rodriguez and his Quick Draw Productions, Aldamisa, AR Films, Miramax and Solipsist. International sales are through Aldamisa International.

Similarly to its predecessor, the sequel weaves together two of Miller’s classic stories with new tales in which the town’s most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more repulsive inhabitants. Several high-profile stars have been added to the project including Josh Brolin, Chris Meloni, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Brolin is set to play the character of Dwight, which is the same character that was previously played by Clive Owen in the 2005 original. But don’t worry, the changing in actors will be explained in the new film. In the adaptation, Dwight is hunted down by the only woman he ever loved, Ava Lord, and then watches his life go straight to hell. Chronologically, this story takes place prior to “The Big Fat Kill” and explains how Dwight came to have a dramatically different face.

“Dwight is a constant character throughout the Sin City world and ‘A Dame To Kill For’ is a defining episode in his life. We’re looking forward to Josh’s take on Dwight,” said Rodriguez and Miller.

Meloni of “Law & Order: SVU” fame as well as a recent stint on “True Blood,” has also joined the cast with very few details revealed. The announcement was made earlier this week and it was noted that he is one of the leads in the film and will be portraying a police office.

One of the most anticipated casting additions was that of Gordon-Levitt signing on to play one of the lead characters. His role is that of “Johnny,” a cocky gambler who disguises a darker mission to destroy his most foul enemy at his best game.

“Johnny is a new character in the Sin City world and we are excited for what Joseph will bring to the role,” said Rodriguez and Miller.

Gordon-Levitt also commented on the role and project saying,

“I love how the first movie uses VFX, not to make fake things look real, but to create a heightened world unburdened by the look and feel of reality. Plus, nobody makes a badass like Mr. Rodriguez.”

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For will also see the return on several actors and characters including Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke as “Marv,” Jessica Alba as “Nancy,” Rosario Dawson as “Gail” and Jaime King as “Goldie/Wendy.”

Production is currently underway at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Texas.

The film will be released by Dimension Films in the US and Canada on October 4, 2013.