Soldado will apparently make Sicario look like a comedy

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

If you haven't seen Denis Villeneuve's SICARIO, I'll just say that it is definitely not a comedy. The darkness kicks off almost immediately with the discovery of corpses buried within the walls of a suburban home, and pretty much never lets up. However, according to Taylor Sheridan, who wrote both SICARIO and its upcoming sequel, SOLDADO, we'll be looking back at those events with a hearty laugh once we see what he has cooked up for us in SOLDADO. Sheridan spoke with Collider recently about his directorial debut on WIND RIVER, and the subject turned to how the SOLDADO was developed.

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.

As SOLDADO will continue diving into the world of drug cartel's and assassins, I've no doubt that the subject matter will be grim, but how dark do you have to go to make SICARIO look like a comedy? I can't wait to find out. Taylor Sheridan has seen an early version of the film and seems "really encouraged" by what was presented, but the writer cautions that it definitely goes off on its own and beats a brand new path.

Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Jeffrey Donovan will be reprising their characters for SOLDADO, which has been directed by Stefano Sollima. As for further installments in this unlikely franchise, Taylor Sheridan seems to believe that there's plenty of juice left in the story.

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.

WIND RIVER is now playing in theaters, so make sure to check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray.