When Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar claimed that Kick-Ass 2 will begin production this summer, most people waved it off as an empty promise - especially since the writer has (rightly) earned himself a reputation for speaking too soon when it comes to his comic book projects.

However, Kick-Ass comic series illustrator John Romita Jr. is also promising a Summer 2012 start date for the Kick-Ass movie sequel, with a May 2013 release date in mind. More so, Romita claims that several deals have been signed and sealed, as far as the personnel for Kick-Ass 2 is concerned.

While attempting to break the world record for signing autographs in Las Vegas (hey, everyone's got their hobbies), Romita asserted that a second Kick-Ass film is already on its way to becoming a reality. Who exactly will be involved with the project? Well, that's the question right now.

Kick-Ass himself (Aaron Johnson) and newbie villain "Red Mist" (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) - who goes under a NSFW alias in the sequel - will seemingly be available for a Summer production start. However, Hit-Girl actress Chloë Moretz will be busy appearing in the Carrie remake/re-interpretation beginning next month; thereafter, she already has projects like The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea lined up.

Add the unfortunate likelihood that neither director Matthew Vaughn nor his Kick-Ass co-writer Jane Goldman are going to be involved with the followup (as they're busy developing an X-Men: First Class sequel together) and it sound as though Kick-Ass 2 will be missing some vital ingredients present in its predecessor, should production commence this summer as (supposedly) planned.

Kick-Ass 2 May Get a New Director

As much as many fans have been anxiously awaiting a followup to Kick-Ass (subtitled Balls to the Wall), the sequel doesn't read as all that promising in its current form. Not helping matters is the poor critical reception for Millar's comic book source material, which many people feel pales in comparison to the series' original eight-issue run (just ask Screen Rant's Ben Moore).

To be fair, though, there's a lot of information that has yet to be revealed about the Kick-Ass sequel (officially, at least) - including who will be holding the directorial reins on the project - and which original cast members will be returning. Hence, it's best to not write off the entire endeavor quite yet.

We will continue to keep you posted on the status of Kick-Ass 2 as more information is released.

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Source: John Romita Jr. [via Comic Book Movie]