Denis Villeneuve’s hit drama Sicario seemed to come out of nowhere, but it has already spawned two sequels – one yet to be released. The original film from 2015 follows an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The film’s hard-hitting 2018 sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, continues to follow the drug war on the border, which has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the U.S. border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) re-teams with the secretive Alejandro (Benicio del Toro). Will they reunite again for the third installment?
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The first film enjoyed both favorable reviews and success at the box office while landing three Academy Award nominations. The second installment was generally less favored among critics, though it certainly wasn’t a commercial flop. The third project, which would complete what producers have called an “anthology trilogy,” is still a go.
Producer Trent Luckinbill told Screen Rant:
There has been speculation about who will return for Sicario: Capos – the third film’s reported title – both behind and in front of the camera. Here’s a closer look at everything we know so far.
“We were so thrilled that people responded to the first one, and we felt justified in making a second because we loved it. We probably are the biggest fans of the movie. And we feel that way again. Obviously, even more than the first one, we kind of leave off a little teaser at the end. Yeah. And we would love to kind of see, you know, this was always in the back of Taylor’s mind, and we loved it, and we thought, God, it would be great if we could get there. I think we’d like to do that now. I certainly feel like the second one lived up to the expectations.”
Updated November 2022 by Liz Young: If you’re looking for more details about Sicario 3, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve updated this article with more details, including the current status of the film.
Sicario 3: The Plot
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Ahead of the release of Day Of The Soldado, producer Trent Luckinbill confirmed Sicario 3 is definitely in the works. The story would likely pick up from the Sicario 2 ending, which saw Alejandro (del Toro) survive a gunshot by young gang member Miguel (played by Elijah Rodriguez), who was forced to shoot him. The final scene takes place a year later, where the recovered Alejandro seemingly recruits Miguel, setting up a potential apprentice relationship in the next movie.
A sequel would also have to deal with the career impact facing Matt (Brolin) as a rare display of emotion caused him to disobey the strict orders of his superiors in Sicario 2. The title Sicario: Capos, roughly translated in English as “bosses,” could mean Matt and Alejandro will face the toughest drug kingpins they’ve dealt with yet.
Sicario 3: The Cast
At this time, no definitive casting for Sicario 3 has been revealed. Still, producer Molly Smith has confirmed with Deadline that Black Label Media intends to get del Toro back to appear. Brolin and supporting actor Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice, Fargo Season 2) are both expected to return for a third film, but again, nothing has been finalized.
It feels like Blunt’s hero character is a must for a trilogy capper too, and exploring how she evolved after the traumatic events of the original film could be great for the new flick. While Day of the Soldado received its fair share of positive feedback, the absence of Blunt was felt heavily, and the film is generally seen as less narratively interesting than the original. Reports say that the series’ producers are interested in bringing Blunt back to the world of Sicario, but it’s hard to say, given her busy schedule.
There has still been no official confirmation on which cast members audiences can expect to see in the film despite the knowledge of a completed script. Blunt, in particular, started working on the David Yates film Pain Hustlers in August, so if Sicario 3’s production is keen on her being involved with the project, they may have to wait for her schedule to free up.
Additionally, if production is interested in bringing back Isabela Merced, who played Isabel Reyes in Sicario: Day of the Soldado, they may have to work around her schedule as well. Since she was in the film, the young actress has been very busy, starring in two John Green film adaptations and joining the cast of Madame Web, in addition to other projects.
Release Date
Sicario: Capos is produced by Black Label Media, which has confirmed that the movie should enter production this year. Therefore, it’s possible we won’t see a finished product until the end of 2022 at the earliest. Taking into account the second installment’s mixed response, the studio may be taking extra caution in assembling the next installment. With 2022 quickly coming to an end and no additional dates released by production, it’s likely that the earliest fans will see the film is 2023.
Will Denis Villeneuve Return as Director?
While no director has been confirmed for the third installment, there is a chance a previous director could return. Could Denis Villeneuve return to the director’s chair for Sicario 3? According to producer Ed McDonnell, Villeneuve would like to come back. “[Villeneuve] wishes he had been available [for Sicario 2],” said McDonnell to Empire. “We even talked about him maybe coming back for the third one, should there be one. He said, ‘If I were available, I’d be directing this movie tomorrow.’ But we always knew he was going to be in the middle of Blade Runner when the script started to come together.”
Villeneuve has been particularly busy with Dune and Dune: Part 2 since Blade Runner. He is interested in filming a third Dune film with material from Dune Messiah. Depending on how the second film is received, the director could be tied up with another Dune film and be unavailable for a third Sicario. Meanwhile, Sicario 2 director Stefano Sollima made it clear back in 2018 that he wouldn’t return for a third installment.
In May, Brolin confirmed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that Sicario 3 has “been written and rewritten,” giving fans hope that the film will come soon. The actor also joked that “we may be 80” when they finally do the film, showing that he and the rest of the cast are very much on board. No further details about this script have been released, so fans will have to wait and see what the film will be about.
Since Brolin’s confirmation on the script, there have been no additional updates. While initially production was supposed to take place by the end of this year at the latest per statements from the creative team behind the movie, there have been no announcements and no evidence that the project has been filmed.
