Oscar Winner William Monahan Working on “Sin City 2”

The long-foundering "Sin City" sequel appears to be gaining some momentum, with director Robert Rodriguez and creator Frank Miller bringing in some A-list talent to do some script work.

William Monahan, whose screenplay for "The Departed" won him an Oscar, has been hired to help out on "Sin City 2," according to The Hollywood Reporter. This is a perfect match, as Monahan has posses the perfect retro-noir tough guy sensibility that the film requires.

Rodriguez swore up and down at this year's Comic-Con that the project was close to getting off the ground, news that sent eyes rolling as it had all been heard before. But it would appear the world owes the director an apology, 'cuz you don't bring in a guy like Monahan just for kicks.

Rodriguez has indicated in the past that the characters that survived the first film--notably those played by Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba--would be brought back for the second, and that scheduling should be easy because most of the film was shot against green screen.

Monahan worked on the script for Tom Cruise's upcoming "Horizons," nee "Oblivion," and will soon be directing his own script for a remake of the 1964 classic "Becket," which originally starred Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole as the Archbishop of Canterbury and King Henry II.

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