Redux in Rio

The forces behind the notorious, sadomasochism-tinged “9 1/2 Weeks” are at it again. They’ll start filming an erotic thriller, “Wild Orchid,” during Carnival next March in Rio. Mickey Rourke will again star, in what producer Mark Damon promises will be “even sexier and (with) a more meaningful love story” than “9 1/2 Weeks.”

Zalman King, who produced “Weeks,” will direct “Orchid,” which he co-wrote with wife Patricia Louisiana Knop (the duo also co-wrote “Weeks).

Rourke gets caught up with two women--one a young innocent, another a “woman of the world”--against the wild Rio backdrop. King boasts that Rourke will play “the most intense character to come along since Marlon Brando in ‘Last Tango.’ ” Rourke’s romantic counterparts are yet to be cast.

“9 1/2 Weeks” did poorly at the domestic box office--only $10 million gross--but pulled in $110 million internationally, Damon said.