The big rumor du jour online at the moment, from several online publications, including a YouTube channel, claims production is imminent, and “Sicario 3” is on the way. What’s more, some outlets have reported that Denis Villeneuve is back in the director’s chair, Taylor Sheridan has finished a new script, and all the principal leads, Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin, are on board, too.
It already felt like very wishful thinking/false reports, but we very recently talked to Denis Villeneuve himself about “Dune: Part Two” (full interview and review to come), and the filmmaker shot down the rumor—at least his involvement.
Villeneuve said he is still debating what project to do next—currently, possibilities include “Dune: Messiah,” “Cleopatra,” and “Rendezvous With Rama,” though potentially more we don’t know about. But a mooted “Sicario 3” isn’t one of them.
Villeneuve didn’t exactly rule out the possibility that someone might be working on a third edition—producers for the previous films recently revealed they’re hopeful of reuniting the cast for more—but he doesn’t know about it and isn’t involved.
“Listen, Taylor Sheridan is one of my favorite screenwriters,” he said. “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,” he continued, suggesting he wouldn’t be involved in any versions regardless but would be first in line to buy a ticket if and when, “I don’t know if thing this will happen, but if Taylor Sheridan is writing it, it’s going to be fantastic.”
Last fall, “Sicario” producers Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill, who recently worked with Benicio Del Toro on the crime drama, “Reptile,” said their ideal “idea” would be to reunite the original cast in the future but that no script was complete or written. The producers also said some of their “partners” on the project included Taylor Sheridan and Christopher McQuarrie, but it’s unclear if they’re writers or just producers on the project.
Either way, Smith and Luckinbill’s last update seems to be the most credible report: there’s hope and will to make a “Sicario 3” with the original cast; some important key players are involved, but Villeneuve isn’t one of them. Back in 2018, “Sicario: Day Of The Soldado,” director Stefano Sollima said Sheridan had “something in mind for the potential third movie, but he hasn’t shared it with me yet.” So, something’s potentially been brewing, but it’s also been quite a while now. Time will tell, but it’s possible the Sheridanverse on Paramount+—“Yellowstone,” “Mayor Of Kingstown,” “Lioness,” and more—has kept him very occupied, hence the long wait.