Not a whole lot is known about Sicario 3, but according to producers Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill, a handful of high-profile filmmakers are involved in the upcoming third entry.
Speaking to Collider, Smith and Luckinbill spoke briefly about Sicario 3. The duo confirmed that the project was still in development, but that it was unknown who would direct the project yet. The pair did confirm, though, that filmmakers Taylor Sheridan and Christopher McQuarrie are involved.
“But we don’t know who’s going to direct yet,” said Smith. “It’s all gonna be about timing. We’ve got obviously a wealth of great partners on it, everybody from Taylor Sheridan to Chris McQuarrie as a partner on it, but it’ll all be about the timing and what aligns with everyone’s schedule.”
Sheridan has been involved with the Sicario series since its inception, having wrote the original film. McQuarrie’s name is new to the franchise, however, and it is unknown exactly what his involvement could be due to his work on the upcoming final Mission: Impossible film.
As for Sheridan, Luckinbill says the writer is still involved and “will obviously have input” in the future film, although he noted that Sheridan is extremely busy nowadays.
“He is so busy, and he stays close to it, and will obviously have input, too,” Luckinbill said. “Then it’s just a question of when we get schedules lined up and all of that starting to have real conversations to see who’s available and who wants to do it. So certainly, I think everybody that’s ever been involved with this has stayed really close and has stayed fans of it. So, we’ll just push forward and see what lines up and who lines up in our window.”
The Sicario franchise continues to grow
Directed by Dune’s Denis Villeneuve, Sicario released in 2015. Starring Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Emily Blunt, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jon Bernthal, the movie made $85 million at the worldwide box office off a budget of $30 million. It earned Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing at the 88th Academy Awards.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado followed in 2018. While Blunt didn’t return for the sequel, del Toro and Brolin both did, the two of them being joined by Isabela Moner, Catherine Keener, and Shea Whigham. Stefano Sollima directed the film, which made $75.8 million at the worldwide box office off an estimated budget of $35-45 million.
Luckinbill, who produced Sicario: Day of the Soldado, told Screen Rant in 2018 that Sicario 3 was “absolutely” going to happen. In April 2023, however, Brolin cast doubt on the project, as he told Variety, “Sicario 3, we’ve been trying to get that right and get that going, but why hasn’t it happened? How long can you wait? A tough movie to get made even though the two made money, and people are asking about it all the time.”
