SICARIO Sequel In Development at Lionsgate

I'm a big fan of Sicario, the new cartel thriller starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro. (You can read my full review here.) The film opened this past Friday in limited release and had a great per-screen average last weekend, and Lionsgate plans on slowly rolling it out to more audiences as they prepare the movie's Oscar campaign. But frankly, I was a little surprised to read in Variety that the studio is also planning a sequel, simply because with blockbuster culture in overdrive, we don't often see sequels for small scale action dramas aimed at adults.

The sequel will reportedly focus on Del Toro's hitman character. He's one of the most mysterious aspects of the first movie, and his backstory gradually comes to light (and his badassery increases) as the film goes on. I'm slightly disappointed it won't focus on Blunt's character, because I think she's a huge part of why Sicario is so good and why people are even interested in it in the first place; it's rare to see this kind of movie with a female lead, and Blunt holds the movie so well that it's a shame she's not the center of the next one (although I suppose it's still possible she could reprise her role).

Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan will oversee the development of the project, and director Denis Villeneuve will also be involved in some capacity, although it's unknown at this point whether he'll return to direct. We'll have to wait and see if this one ever comes to fruition, but in the meantime, go check out Sicario when it comes to a theater near you.