Back in 2015, director Denis Villeneuve exploded onto the scene with drug thriller Sicario, a smart, intense and overall impressive piece of filmmaking that left just about everyone pleased. That being said, it didn’t exactly call for a sequel, and with both Villeneuve and star Emily Blunt choosing to move on, it was hard to muster up too much excitement when one was originally announced.
Thankfully, then, things have been coming together rather well for the follow-up, which is titled Soldado. Taylor Sheridan is back again on scripting duties, and in the director’s chair is Stefano Sollima. In front of the camera, meanwhile, are returning stars Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin. Now, we’re hearing about an exciting new addition to the cast, as Stranger Things star Matthew Modine has signed on to play Defense Director James Ridley “opposite Catherine Keener, who plays his Deputy Director.”
Speaking about his plans for the sequel, Sheridan described Soldado as Sicario “on steroids,” which certainly sounds alright to us:
“Lionsgate understood that they bought something that was a spec [on the first film]. So there was a certain amount of latitude they had to give me [on the sequel]. What usually would be a long meeting about what’s this character about, what’s his arc—we didn’t have that. They trusted me to just go do it, and with Sicario, which I’m really proud of, it really approaches some difficult subjects. I didn’t want to demean that with the second one. So I really wrote something I double dared them to actually make. Ten times more unsentimental, more vicious and really reflective… It’s funny a lot of people think Sicario’s about the drug war and the cartels. It’s not. It’s a movie about American policy and the way that we police and [Sicario 2] is that on steroids.”
Production is beginning to grind into gear on the set of Soldado. No word yet on a specific release date, but expect Sollima’s actioner to debut towards the latter stages of 2017.