Frank Miller regains the Sin City film and television rights

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Back in 2005, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez blew viewers away with SIN CITY, a stylish adaptation of the neo-noir comic series Miller created in 1991. Unfortunately, when it came to making a sequel to that film Miller and Rodriguez didn't exactly strike while the iron was hot – nine years passed before SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR reached theatres, and it didn't quite live up to its predecessor.

The first SIN CITY was made at Miramax (and released through the Dimension Films branch) when Harvey Weinstein was still in control of that company – so the rights to that film went with Weinstein when he went on to start The Weinstein Company. The Weinstein Company also had the rights to create a Sin City television series, and last year they announced that one was being developed by former The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara, with UNDERWORLD's Len Wiseman set to direct the pilot.

Since then, Weinstein's empire has crumbled, as he has been charged with six counts of sexual assault and rape. The Weinstein Company has gone bankrupt and been sold off to Lantern Capital Partners – but in the midst of this, Miller stepped up and objected to the idea of the SIN CITY film and television rights being part of the sale.

Things have worked out for him: the TV rights and the rights to the first film are now securely in Miller's hands. This means that Miller will be able to continue developing the Sin City TV series and shop it around to other companies himself, so maybe we'll be getting to see Sin City stories play out on the screen on a more regular basis in the near future.

Miller was listed as a producer on the Mazzara/Wiseman series, alongside Stephen L'Heureux, Harvey Weinstein, and Bob Weinstein. It's not clear if he'll continue working with Mazzara and Wiseman now that the show is free of the Weinsteins.

The rights to SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR are still owned by Miramax, which has been Weinstein-free since 2005.