French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve had already impressed internationally with “Incendies” which earned him a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination in 2010. That opened the doors for the one-two 2013/2014 punch of “Enemy” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and “Prisoners” featuring Hugh Jackman, Gyllenhaal and a star-studded cast that included Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo and more. How much extra clout did the two critically-acclaimed movies give him?
Today we have the answer: this morning it was revealed that Amy Adams is circling the lead in his upcoming sci-fi film “The Story Of Your Life,” and now comes word that another highly-covered Hollywood actress is entering his sphere. The trades report that “Looper” and “The Five Year Engagement” star Emily Blunt is planning to star in Villeneuve’s next film. Titled “Sicario,” the movie is a Mexico/U.S. border crime tale and thriller penned by Taylor Sheridan. Said to be “No Country For Old Men”-esque, the movie will center on a female cop (Blunt) and two male Delta Force rangers who cross from Tucson to Mexico to catch a drug lord—but once they cross the border, it’s a whole different, more dangerous and depraved world than they were expecting.
“Sicario” will shoot this summer, to be followed-up by his sci-fi film after. The filmmaker is also developing an adaptation of a Russell Banks novel, with Jessica Chastain-eyed to star, so suffice it to say, after two very masculine movies about crime and identity, Villeneuve’s going to have a lot more estrogen in his life for the next couple of years.
We recently spent time with Villeneuve in interviews and moderated film chats for the release of “Enemy” (check out our most recent one here) and those that loved the look of “Prisoners” (Rodger Deakins) and “Enemy” (Nicolas Bolduc) should take note: Villeneuve says he’s eying to work with both of them again as soon as possible, so don’t be surprised when either name pops up for one of these upcoming projects.
