SICARIO 2 Moves Forward With New Director and No Emily Blunt

Denis Villeneuve's cartel thriller Sicario was fantastic, and Lionsgate put a sequel in development almost immediately after the first one hit theaters. The sequel is supposed to center more on Benicio Del Toro's mysterious character, and last we heard, the film's producers claimed Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin were also going to reprise their roles in the new movie. Now it appears that isn't the case, as Deadline reports that while Del Toro and Brolin will return, Blunt's character has been written out of the movie.

The sequel, which has been titled Soldado (while "Sicario" means "Hitman," "Soldado" means "Soldier"), will most likely be directed by Stefano Sollima, who is the front-runner for the job and is apparently close to signing on. I've never heard of him before, but Deadline says:

Sollima is the Italian director who has made a number of memorably gritty crime thrillers but is best known for directing the Italian miniseries Gomorra and the features Suburra and A.C.A.B. (All Cops Are Bastards).

Taylor Sheridan, who wrote the screenplay for the original movie, wrote the sequel as well, which reportedly follows Del Toro and Brolin's characters as they "concern themselves with what is being smuggled across the border between Mexico and the U.S. in the tunnels used to move drugs and illegal immigrants. Those tunnels also can be used to bring terrorists into the U.S."

I'm obviously a big fan of Sicario, so while I'm bummed Blunt won't be a part of this movie, I'm looking forward to seeing how the sequel plays out.