Production on the hotly anticipated Sin City 2 could begin in early 2012.

Comic-book master Frank Miller told MTV: “Robert Rodriquez and I are finishing off the script and could be shooting as early as this spring.”

Miller also told MTV that there had only been occasional contact between himself and Rodriquez since the first Sin City film was completed but that they had started working together closely again “since this project started coming alive.”

One of the biggest concerns for fans of the first movie will be whether the original cast members will be involved in the second installment. Jessica Alba has a good working history with Rodriquez having starred in his films Machete and Spy Kids 4 but Mickey Rourke may not return as the character Marv. He has been noncommittal in the past and passed on the chance to appear in the sequel to the hit Expendables film.

Miller, who has also written 300, The Spirit and RoboCop 2 and 3, revealed that the new installment will be structured around three stories.

“Sin City 2 is primarily an adaptation of the book A Dame To Kill For," Miller added. “It also features the short story, Just Another Saturday Night, and two new stories. One involves Jessica Alba's character, Nancy Callahan, that I came up with for the movie in order to tie things together and make it be more united with the first.”

The first Sin City.