Sicario: Day of the Soldado ($76 Million Worldwide Box Office)

Lionsgate and Black Label Media are getting closer to a production start on Soldado, the second installment of the drug war thriller that began with 2015’s Sicario. I’m told that Stefano Sollima is the front-runner to direct the second installment and should have the job shortly, with talks expected to wrap up quickly. Denis Villenueve directed the first film. 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). Soldado was scripted by Taylor Sheridan. Black Label Media and Lionsgate are co-financing.

The sequel focuses on Alejandro Gillick, the shadowy Man on Fire-like protagonist played by Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin’s CIA agent Matt Graver, who in the first film established themselves as hellbent on hunting down cartel kingpins, no matter what. The script by Sheridan — who wrote the original — has been very well received. Gone is the principled FBI agent character played by Emily Blunt. The subject matter is very topical, as Gillick and Graver 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.

The sequel is being produced by Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk, Black Label’s Molly Smith and Thad and Trent Luckinbill, and Edward McDonnell. I’m told that the plan is to move into production by the fall and that the talent all has sparked to Sollima. Final meetings with the studio are happening shortly. Sollima is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

ForeverBlu wrote:So it's a sausage party now.

Wonder why Blunt was written out?

ForeverBlu wrote:Didn't she just have a baby, her and Krasinsky's second.

She might be talking time off for that.

But I see your point.

Odd choices, after breakthrough roles like Sicario and Edge of Tomorrow.

The latter got her critical acclaim.

When Sicario hit theaters in 2015, few expected it to spawn a sequel. Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s thriller was a searing, thrilling indictment of America’s foreign policy, with a tremendous script by Taylor Sheridan, but it seemed to wrap up in a manner that was satisfying thematically, plot-wise, and character-wise. Regardless, Sicario 2 moved ahead with Sheridan penning the script, resulting in the now-filming follow-up Soldado.

Sheridan has since become a household name as a writer with his Oscar-nominated script for Hell or High Water, and so excitement for Soldado continues to build. On the day after his Oscar nomination I got the chance to speak with Sheridan about his new directorial effort, the thriller Wind River. The film just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive response, and I can attest that it carries a similar vibe to Sicario and Hell or High Water in that it plays with Western tropes, is another law enforcement-centric story, and features a pair of dynamo performances—this time from Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. It’s one hell of a promising installment from Sheridan as a director, and I can’t wait to see what he tackles next.

During the course of our conversation, I asked Sheridan how Soldado even came about given that Sicario didn’t exactly seem like sequel material. The scribe explained and also offered up some tantalizing (and terrifying) plot teases:

“One of the producers called me and said, ‘If you were to do a sequel, how would you do it?’ and when he first brought it up I thought,’ Well of course you’re asking me.’ And then I had an idea, and I said, ‘Look you can’t really do a sequel, but I sure would love to see what happened if these guys didn’t have a chaperone.’ Because basically they’re operating within the United States, so I played with some actual laws that exist and found a way that they could operate more or less legally within the U.S. But they had a chaperone. What happens if they weren’t in the U.S. and they didn’t have a chaperone? How bad or good would that work out? You’ve seen Sicario, good isn’t going to factor into it too much.”

When I asked Sheridan if the film still tackles a law enforcement point of view now that we know Emily Blunt’s character isn’t part of it, he offered up this ominous nugget:

“I would say if Sicario is a film about the militarization of police and that blending over, this is removing the policing aspect from it.”

We do know that the sequel follows Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro’s characters, who were not so great dudes to begin with, and who are now operating outside the U.S. without oversight. Stefano Sollima is directing the follow-up, and in speaking further about the Sicario sequel, Sheridan revealed that it has, unfortunately, turned out to be rather timely:

“Unfortunately there is still much to mine in this world and explore creatively. People are gonna think I have a crystal ball—I don’t—but the current political activities are oddly timely to what Soldado confronts.”

As franchises tend to come in threes, I had to ask Sheridan if there are any plans for Sicario 3 in the works, to which he replied:

“Who knows? I know what it would be if they did. I know exactly what it would be if they did.”

Sicario was one of the most critically heralded movies of 2015 and helped elevate director Denis Villeneuve to one of the most in-demand directors in Hollywood. It also helped bolster writer Tayler Sheridan's career, who wrote the recent Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water, as well as the upcoming Sicario 2, which is officially titled Soldado. If you thought the first movie was dark, get ready for something really bleak because Sheridan says that the sequel is going to make the original look like a comedy.

The screenwriter recently spoke with Collider in order to promote his latest movie Wind River. During the course of the conversation, he was asked about the Sicario sequel, which doesn't yet have a release date. Taylor Sheridan revealed that he wrote the movie the way he wanted to write it and the result is something that is apparently way more dark than the first movie, which is really saying something. Here's what he had to say about it.

"When I told them I would write it, they asked for the traditional studio call and the outline and all that, and I said, 'No, no, no, guys. The first one was original. I'm just going to go away and I'm going to come back with it and there you go.' And they trusted me to do that, and then read it and were like, 'Ah, shit. We're in a lot of trouble.' It makes the first one look like a comedy. Yeah. I'm not the guy to ask to write a sequel."

Sicario didn't at all seem like the kind of movie that was capable of spawning a franchise, but that is exactly what happened. Even though Denis Villeneuve didn't return to direct Soldado, as he is busy with Blade Runner 2049 at the moment, the sequel sees the return of Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Jeffrey Donovan under the direction of Stefano Sollima (Gomorrah). If all goes well, Sicario 2 isn't going to be the end. As Taylor Sheridan tells it, there are more possible corners of this universe to explore in future installments.

"I would like there to be one more to complete that so all of a sudden I don't know what geometric shape you'd call this that you have a trilogy kicking off from a trilogy, and this one not being thematic, this one being actual, you know, it's a really unique opportunity to capitalize on something purely creatively. You know what I mean? It's a really bizarre thing to franchise, if that's the right word, which I don't think it is. You know, Sicario was successful but it was successful because Denis and the producers were, you know, they were very lean. It was very lean filmmaking. And so it didn't, by comparison to films that look like that, didn't cost very much money and so likewise with the sequel, that didn't cost much more which allows us to stay really true as opposed to trying to reach a broader audience, make a richer experience for that audience and hopefully bring in more but that's not necessarily the goal. The goal is to continue down this story, you know."

Even without Emily Blunt and her character, it sounds like Soldado could be a worthy sequel, even if it is going to be a very dark one. The movie has already been filmed and Taylor Sheridan has seen early cuts, which he feels encouraged by. Hopefully, that means Lionsgate will give the movie an official release date soon so we can get an idea of what to really expect from this movie. One thing that can be said definitively is that Sicario is far from a comedy. It's a very gritty movie. Soldado must go pretty far to make it look like a comedy by comparison.

UltimateMarvel wrote:YES! Don't try to make it big to reach a broader audience. The first one caught me by surprise. I love it. How much darker can it get than the first one's ending though? lol

Sicario 2: Soldado with Josh Brolin and Benecio Del Toro will open June 29, 2018.

Rusty wrote:I loved watching Sicario, but I tried a re-watch the other night for the first time in a while, and it was hard to sit through. Couldn't finish it.

WyldeMan wrote:

Rusty wrote:I loved watching Sicario, but I tried a re-watch the other night for the first time in a while, and it was hard to sit through. Couldn't finish it.

I just had my second viewing of Sicario after all this time and couldn't believe how much I hated Blunt's character the second time around, lol. All she does is cry about jurisdiction and how they're not being polite to everybody when they're not pulling dozens of bodies out of walls.

I really do want to see the team without the babysitter cause upon second viewing she makes it very difficult to imagine a third.

However, I still love Blunt but her return was not needed and I am now thankful for this decision.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I'm gonna watch it again before the second one too. The way it ended makes sense though for her not to return, she's not made for that life.

Sony just dropped the teaser trailer for Sicario 2: Soldado which it is releasing via its Columbia Pictures banner on June 29, 2018. The Black Label Media production was directed by Stefano Sollima from a script by Taylor Sheridan. In the sequel, the drug war on the U.S./Mexico border has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border. Federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) reteams with the mercurial Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) join forces to fight the war.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Nice! Can't wait. Alejandro doing what he does best. What's he doing in the middle of the street shooting a guy unmasked like that in broad daylight? Crazy!

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:Nice! Can't wait. Alejandro doing what he does best. What's he doing in the middle of the street shooting a guy unmasked like that in broad daylight? Crazy!

Alejandro has no fucks to give about American laws cause he has Agency backing and is sanctioned for murder. He's got a CIA Hall Pass.

Rusty wrote:All I think of after that trailer ...

WyldeMan wrote:

Rusty wrote:All I think of after that trailer ...

Just a non-stop fat guy shoot em up?

Rusty wrote:I actually meant to throw in a Tropical Thunder "never go full retard" clip prior to that.

Guess I forgot.

WyldeMan wrote:

Rusty wrote:I actually meant to throw in a Tropical Thunder "never go full retard" clip prior to that.

Guess I forgot.

Are you not looking forward to this?

UltimateMarvel wrote:I loved the first one and I'm looking forward to this one. I thought the first one was very grounded and tactical. Are you kidding me Russ?

UltimateMarvel wrote:I hope this does well enough for a 3rd movie.

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:I hope this does well enough for a 3rd movie.

Is your hope for Alejandro to become the Mexican John Rambo?

Tyger wrote:Back in my day not everything was a fucking trilogy

Tyger wrote:Back in my day not everything was a fucking trilogy

WyldeMan wrote:Back in our day, we'd get one movie and 20 years later they might make a sequel......

UltimateMarvel wrote:Hey, I was happy with just the first one but since they're already doing 2, might as well do a third, no?

Tyger wrote:Abe is destined to run Hollywood