Robert Rodriguez Says 'Sin City 2' May Shoot This Summer; Planning Untitled Animated Family Film

null"Sin City" roared onto screens back in 2005, and ever since then, sequel talk has moved in fits and starts with very little happening. But 2011 saw the most movement in a while, with William Monahan being hired on to finish the script, and Frank Miller teasing that Jessica Alba's character of Nancy Callahan would have a storyline that would thread the two movies together. That start date has remained always shifting or forever elusive, though now, Robert Rodriguez says it might just happen this year.

Hitting SXSW this week, Rodriguez provided a few updates on what he's got cooking. First up, he revealed that at his newly launched Quickdraw Animation shingle, he's prepping a family film but wouldn't say anything more, not even the title as it would give away the whole concept. But his plan is to develop the movie inhouse at Troublemaker with a team of animators to help come up with the story and visual elements before partnering with Quickdraw to take it over the finish line.

And oh yeah, "Sin City 2." The director said there is a possibility it will shoot this summer. While we've heard rumors of start dates before, this actually is consistent with what he told us last year at Comic-Con. With "Machete Kills" slated to start shooting in April, Rodriguez had said with all the work getting all the details in place, "they might just end up shooting around the same time.” So perhaps he's now closer than ever to finally mounting this thing.

That being said, Rodriguez also stated last summer that his live-action adaptation of Frank Franzetta's 1983 movie "Fire & Ice" would shoot in the first half of this year — something that clearly isn't happening. So we'll see how this all plays out over the next few months, but we'll more surprised if it does start, than if it doesn't. [THR]