Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin will reunite for Sicario 3, with Padraic McKinley directing and Steven Knight writing the script, as producers plan to begin filming at the start of next year and shop the project to potential studios.
Original Trio Returns For Third Film
Deadline reported that Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin are all set to return, bringing back the core cast from the 2015 original.
The first film, directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Taylor Sheridan, earned rave reviews and grossed $84.9 million worldwide on a $30 million budget. While Del Toro and Brolin returned for the 2018 sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado directed by Stefano Sollima, Blunt did not appear in that follow-up. Her return as FBI special agent Kate Macer marks a major reunion for the trilogy-ender.
Del Toro is coming off a busy year that saw him star in two films from two very different directors—Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which earned Del Toro a Best Supporting Actor nomination (he was ultimately bested by his costar Sean Penn). Brolin can next be seen in 20th Century’s Whalefall, which also opens October 16. Meanwhile, Blunt is having a big year between Disclosure Day for Steven Spielberg and The Devil Wears Prada 2, and she will next be seen in A Quiet Place Part III.
Steven Knight Wrote the Screenplay
Steven Knight, the Oscar nominee and creator of Peaky Blinders, penned the screenplay for the upcoming film.
Emily Blunt is an amazing actress, but her role was sort of a moral guidance for the audience. In Soldado, we don’t have that.
Stefano Sollima
Production Starts Early Next Year
Black Label Media and Thunder Road are producing the film, with Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Ed McDonnell attached as producers. Although Lionsgate released the first two films, sources indicated that the team plans to take the package to the open market with several studios already showing interest.
Filming is expected to begin at the start of next year.