Sicario 3 is Happening at Some Point

Movies

The war on drugs may be dragging on even further. In an exclusive chat with producers Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill, Collider reports that a third Sicario film is in development, with the script almost completed (though they don’t say who wrote it) and several possible directors mentioned, including Taylor Sheridan and Christopher McQuarrie. 2015’s Sicario was written by Sheridan and directed by Denis Villeneuve, with Emily Blunt starring as an FBI agent recruited by a CIA officer (Josh Brolin) to join a task force that battles drug cartels, including a mysterious operative named Alejandro (Benicio del Toro). A sequel called Sicario: Day of the Soldado, also written by Sheridan and directed by Stefano Sollima, was released in 2018, with del Toro and Brolin returning. Talk of a third film has been ever-present, but this is the first big news about it, with the producers saying it’s a matter of timing for all involved and that Emily Blunt is also planning to return.

I’m not overly excited by the prospect of a third Sicario movie. I liked the first one a lot, but Day of the Soldado was boring and did nothing for the story or characters. It was just there to capitalize on the goodwill Sicario earned. Now, a third one is on the horizon, and I’m not sure what the point is. Sicario ended just right, making its statement and bringing Emily Blunt’s character full circle, understanding the stakes of the war she’d previously fought with blinders on and realizing it needed people more dangerous than she is to fight it. It had a great, unsettling, poignant finale. The sequel felt tacked on, ruining the perfect exit of Benicio del Toro’s character from the first film and, worst of all, dragging along for two interminable hours. I’d rather the creatives involved move on to other things. Taylor Sheridan has carved out a nice niche for himself on streaming TV, for example. (I’m just watching Tulsa King now, and I like it quite a bit.) And the three main actors are always working because they’re great and well-liked. Let the first one stay loved and the second stay forgotten.