Taylor Sheridan’s long-awaited Sicario 3 is officially moving forward, with star Josh Brolin confirming production is kicking off soon. Following years of false starts, script rewrites, and delays from industry strikes, the gritty action franchise centering on CIA SAC officer Matt Graver is finally locked in for its long-anticipated third installment.
If you have been tracking the labyrinthine development of Taylor Sheridan’s border-town crime saga, you know patience has been a prerequisite. Ever since Denis Villeneuve’s tense 2015 original and Stefano Sollima’s brutal 2018 follow-up, Day of the Soldado, fans have endured a cycle of optimistic producer updates and frustrating radio silence.
The Bottom Line
- The Big Update: Josh Brolin confirmed in an interview with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan that Sicario 3 “is happening” and production will begin soon.
- The Roadblocks: The project suffered repeated stops, including major delays from the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike despite writers being nearly finished with the script.
- Unanswered Questions: Key details regarding the script’s final author, returning cast members like Emily Blunt or Benicio del Toro, and a director remain unconfirmed.
Josh Brolin Breaks the Silence on Production
The latest momentum comes straight from the source. While speaking with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan while promoting Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars, Brolin offered a definitive update on his role as CIA SAC officer Matt Graver. After hinting a year ago that the project felt “very, very real” through industry grapevine chatter, Brolin dropped the most concrete timeline news in nearly a decade.
Here is the kicker: while Brolin confirmed the film is primed to roll cameras soon, the exact creative hierarchy remains a shifting puzzle. Producer Molly Smith previously noted that the script was nearing completion prior to the 2023 WGA strikes that brought Hollywood to a temporary halt. Yet, exact writing credits remain locked in a vault, with Taylor Sheridan’s massive television empire at Paramount+ keeping his feature-film availability razor-thin.
A Franchise Caught Between Streaming Empires and Box Office Realities
The economics of modern Hollywood make a Sicario threequel an interesting high-wire act. The original film operated on a modest $30 million budget, pulling in roughly $84.9 million worldwide according to industry tracking. Its sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, built on that foundation by turning a $35 million production layout into a healthy $75 million global haul.
| Film Title | Release Year | Estimated Production Budget | Worldwide Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sicario | 2015 | $30 Million | $84.9 Million |
| Sicario: Day of the Soldado | 2018 | $35 Million | $75 Million |
| Sicario 3 | TBA (In Development) | Not Yet Disclosed | Pending Production |
The Casting Chessboard and Unresolved Creative Questions
Beyond Brolin’s Matt Graver, the canvas of the third film is wide open. Benicio del Toro’s enigmatic assassin Alejandro Gillick survived the explosive events of the second film, leaving a clear opening for his return. Meanwhile, fans have long clamored for the return of Emily Blunt as FBI agent Kate Macer, who sat out the second installment entirely.
Directors also remain a moving target. Denis Villeneuve set the cinematic standard for the gritty aesthetic of the first film, but his current calendar is crammed with massive sci-fi and potential franchise commitments. Producer Molly Smith has previously linked figures like Christopher McQuarrie to the project’s development sphere, though nothing is set in stone.
Ultimately, the long-dormant franchise is finally crawling out of development hell. Drop a comment below: Do you want to see Emily Blunt return for a final showdown, or should the franchise hand the reins entirely back to Brolin and del Toro?
