Last year's Sicario was a revelation for audiences and reminded us that a mid-range budget action thriller could be intelligent, action-packed and terrifying without relying on huge explosions or special effects.
Denis Villeneuve's expertly-crafted crime saga not only worked with critics, it was also a commercial hit, more than doubling its $30 million budget at the box-office. There's been talks and talks about a proposed sequel, however in a recent interview, producers Molly Smith and Thad & Trent Luckinbill confirmed that the sequel is in active development and that all the cast from the first one - Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin - are on board to return.
Trent Luckinbill, one of the film's producers, praised screenwriter Taylor Sheridan's abilities, saying that "...Taylor's a really great world-builder. He's got that kind of modern Western voice, which is in vogue right now. And he did it again (with the sequel). It's a great big world. We can't reveal the plot, but you'll see (Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin) all come back. You have such a great character with Benicio, who was as dark as he was and still so loved. That character resonates so well with audiences. People want to know what happened to him, so it's a perfect foray for us to explore."
As for the status of Denis Villeneuve, there was less certainty. As we reported, Villeneueve is working on the Blade Runner sequel for the forseeable future so Sicario 2 is likely further down his list of priorities. That logic, it seems, was echoed by Luckinbill, saying that "we would love it if Denis could direct. He's a busy man, but he's certainly part of the process with us right now."
A big part of what made Sicario so brilliant was just how Villeneuve structured each scene and his ability to create real and genuine tension in them. Not only that, both he and Deakins worked up a really interest visual palette for the film that's quite distinctive. Passing that on to someone else might work, but why should they have to? Let's all hope that Villeneuve is up for returning for the sequel, because honestly, the world needs more films like Sicario.
You can read our original review for Sicario here and if you haven't watched Sicario already, seriously get on that because you're missing out.
Via THR
