The first pictures from the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – released online by Coming Soon – give us a glimpse of three of the film’s characters, Jessica Alba’s Nancy Callahan, Mickey Rourke’s Marv, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Johnny. Alba and Rourke are reprising their roles from the original Sin City (released in 2005), while Gordon-Levitt’s character is new to the story. Like the first film, A Dame to Kill for is based on Frank Miller’s comic book, Sin City, an anthology series set in the fictional Basin City, and homage to film noir and hardboiled detective literature.

Robert Rodriguez collaborated closely with Miller on the first Sin City film – both received directing credits – creating a unique comic-book-to-film adaptation. Unlike many films based on comics which use the the characters, settings, and ideas of the source material more as tools to craft original stories, Sin City the film was more or less a straight adaption of the comic. The film was even rendered in black and white, so as to accurately recreate scenes from the comic book panels. Rodriguez and Miller are both returning to direct A Dame to Kill For, and based on these images, they’re doing exactly what they did before visually.

Other cast members returning from the first film include Powers Boothe, Rosario Dawson, and Bruce Willis. Considering the fates of Willis and Rourke’s respective characters, their scenes will probably be flashbacks. Yes, it is based on a comic book, but not all comics involve fantasy and magic.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is set for an August 22, 2014 release.