With Taylor Sheridan as its writer and Denis Villeneuve as its director, it’s no wonder that Sicario turned out to be an amazing movie. Sicario was the first and only time acclaimed Yellowstone writer Taylor Sheridan and acclaimed Dune director Denis Villeneuve have ever worked together. Some of Villeneuve’s best movies came long before Sicario – he directed movies like Prisoners and Enemy just two years prior – but the action thriller was Taylor Sheridan’s first big break behind the camera. Before Sheridan’s many TV shows made him a well-known writer, he was best known for playing Deputy Chief David Hale in Sons of Anarchy.

Sicario also came before many of Villeneuve’s and Sheridan’s respective biggest hits. As previously stated, Sicario was Sheridan’s first writing credit, and it came before everything from Yellowstone to Landman. It also came long before Villeneuve gained international popularity for movies like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. In a way, Sicario was a bit of a dark horse, even though it starred the likes of Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt. Looking back after all their successes, it’s obvious that a collaboration between Sheridan and Villeneuve was always going to be great, but there was no way to tell just how amazing Sicario would be.

Sicario Has Everything You Would Expect From A Taylor Sheridan And Denis Villeneuve Movie

Sicario Is Expertly Written By Sheridan & Beautifully Directed By Villeneuve

Sicario really is exactly what most people would hope for from a collaboration between Denis Villeneuve and Taylor Sheridan. It’s dripping with the exciting and efficient plot Sheridan’s films like Hell or High Water are acclaimed for, and each character is so expertly written that they feel real and completely fleshed out. Sicario also has all the beautiful visuals of Dune: Part Two (no one can make a desert look as good as Villeneuve can) and intense action and drama of Villeneueve’s other films. No other pairing besides Sheridan and Villeneuve could have made a movie as intense as Sicario.

Taylor Sheridan Wrote Sicario’s Sequel (But Denis Villeneuve Didn’t Direct It)

Sheridan’s Writing Wasn’t Enough To Make Sicario: Day Of The Soldado A Hit Without Villeneuve

Though they captured lightning in a bottle once, Taylor Sheridan and Denis Villeneuve have yet to collaborate again. Sheridan returned to write the 2018 sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado, but Villeneuve moved on to direct Blade Runner 2049 in 2017. While Sheridan’s writing is incredible on its own, and Sicario: Day of the Soldado is still a great action movie, it just isn’t as good as the original because Villeneuve didn’t return to the director’s chair. The proof is in the pudding: Sicario scored 92% with critics and 85% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, while Sicario: Day of the Soldado had just 62% and 66%, respectively.

The fact that even Taylor Sheridan’s writing couldn’t make Sicario: Day of the Soldado live up to the original isn’t a slight on him: it’s a compliment to how well his skills meshed with Denis Villeneueve’s. Day of the Soldado is a more than serviceable action movie that features a lot of Sheridan’s best features as a writer, from a well-crafted and intriguing story to more than enough room for character development. It just didn’t have Villenueve’s visuals and masterful touch on the camera and choreography to put it over the edge.

Sicario 3 Needs Both Taylor Sheridan And Denis Villeneuve (If It Ever Happens)

Sheridan & Villeneuve Are A Great Team & Not Having Them Together For Sicario 3 Would Be A Shame

Sicario 3 has long had an uncertain future, but one thing is clear: if it’s ever made, it needs both Taylor Sheridan’s writing and Denis Villeneuve’s directing. Day of the Soldado is proof of what happens when only one or the other is involved in a Sicario movie, which is to say, a good but not great movie. Both Sheridan and Villenueve really need a good counterpart in all of their projects. Many of Sheridan’s biggest hits have been directed by himself or other talented directors, and Villenueve’s biggest successes have been written by himself or adapted from legendary novels.

Unfortunately, Sheridan and Villeneuve working together for Sicario 3 is less likely than ever before. Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming projects are almost exclusively TV shows – mainly more Yellowstone spinoff series – so he might not have time to revisit Sicario. Likewise, Denis Villeneuve’s plate is full with Dune: Part Three and two more movies that are in development, so he’s just as busy as Sheridan. Both of the creatives have simply turned their attention to other projects, and Sicario 3 fell through the cracks. It looks like another collaboration between Taylor Sheridan and Denis Villeneuve just isn’t in the cards for Sicario, though it would be delightful to see.