I’m shocked to learn that the director of Sicario: Day of the Soldado wasn’t intimidated at all when he signed on to direct the sequel, since the first movie is so highly acclaimed. The first Sicario movie was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who has been regarded as one of the best directors of this century. Upon its release, reviews for Sicario were incredible. In addition to its 92% on Rotten Tomatoes (via Rotten Tomatoes), Screen Rant also gave Sicario an amazing score of 9 out of 10.

In addition to Sicario’s critical success, it was also profitable at the box office. The movie’s $84 million box office haul led to a sequel being greenlit. Just like the first film, Sicario: Day of the Soldado was also written by Taylor Sheridan, who has become immensely popular for writing shows such as Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown, and Tulsa King. However, Villeneuve did not return to direct the sequel to his 2015 film. Instead, Stefano Sollima signed on to direct Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Despite the first film’s great reviews, Sollima wasn’t intimidated when directing the second Sicario movie.

Sicario 2’s Director Wasn’t Intimidated By Following Up Villeneuve’s Sicario Thanks To Sheridan’s Script

Taylor Sheridan Has Written Several Amazing Movies

While it would have been understandable for Sollima to be worried that Sicario: Day of the Soldado wouldn’t be received as well as the first film, the director has claimed that he was always confident in the project because of Sheridan’s script. Before receiving immense acclaim for Yellowstone and its spinoffs, Sheridan wrote several critically acclaimed movies. Therefore, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, Sollima claimed that he never doubted his decision to direct Sicario: Day of the Soldado because he loved Sheridan’s script. He said:

No, I wasn’t intimidated because Taylor’s script was the kind of movie I love to watch in theaters — and love to make as a filmmaker. I really didn’t struggle with the decision. Out of respect for Sicario, the only thing I asked the producers was that I have the ability to find and choose a completely new crew. I felt this was the only way to make Soldado a standalone piece, a goal the producers also shared.

Sollima’s comments prove how strong Sheridan’s script for Sicario: Day of the Soldado was. Over the years, Villeneuve has also claimed that Sheridan is one of the best screenwriters he’s ever worked with. In addition to both Sicario films, Sheridan also wrote critically acclaimed movies like Hell or High Water and Wind River. Therefore, even though making a sequel to Sicario was risky, Sollima never believed he had any reason to be worried about the project since Sheridan was such an effective writer.

How Stefano Sollima’s Sicario: Day of the Soldado Was Different From Denis Villeneuve’s Movie

Multiple Sicario Characters Did Not Return For Day Of The Soldado

Even though Sollima thought Sheridan’s script for the sequel was amazing, reviews for Sicario: Day of the Soldado were disappointing. Screen Rant gave the movie a 5 out of 10, and its score of 62% on Rotten Tomatoes is significantly lower than the first film (via Rotten Tomatoes). Based on his above comments, Sollima chose a new crew for the sequel, which isn’t surprising since Sicario: Day of the Soldado feels like a much different movie from the first film.

Whereas the first movie was mostly told from Kate Macer’s perspective, who is played by Emily Blunt, Sicario: Day of the Soldado does not feature her and instead follows Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin’s characters, who were very mysterious in the first film. Sicario: Day of the Soldado, which sees del Toro’s Alejandro kidnap the daughter of a drug cartel leader, is still an entertaining movie, but it is not nearly as good as the first film. Overall, it has a different tone and is more of an action film, rather than a thriller.

Will Either Denis Villeneuve Or Stefano Sollima Return To Direct Sicario 3?

Sicario 3 Has Been Stuck In Development Hell For Years

Even though Sicario: Day of the Soldado wasn’t as successful as the first film, Sicario 3 has been confirmed to be in development. However, the third film in the series has unfortunately been stuck in development hell for years. In 2024, Blunt expressed doubt that Sicario 3 will ever be made, while Brolin claimed that he believes the producers are still working on it. Last year, Villeneuve also discussed whether he would return to direct Sicario 3, suggesting that he potentially could be interested if Sheridan is writing the movie. Villeneuve said:

Listen, Taylor Sheridan is one of my favorite screenwriters. If Taylor is writing a screenplay, I would be absolutely excited to see that on screen, [but] I have not heard about [a new script or project]. Nobody has talked to me about that. I’m just hearing about it now, I don’t know if thing this will happen, but if Taylor Sheridan is writing it, it’s going to be fantastic.

While it is unlikely, it would be amazing if Villeneuve and Sheridan teamed up again for Sicario 3. As for Sollima, he told Variety in 2018 that he was not interested in directing Sicario 3. He argued that every Sicario film should be standalone and should come from a different director. Therefore, Sollima will definitely not return, and I wouldn’t hold my breath for Villeneuve to return to the franchise either. Therefore, seven years after the release of Sicario: Day of the Soldado, there is currently no director attached to Sicario 3.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety

Sicario

Created by

Taylor Sheridan

First Film

Sicario

Cast

Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya, Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan

Character(s)

Alejandro Gillick, Matt Graver, Reggie Wayne, Isabel Reyes, Kate Mercer, Steve Forsing