Sicario 3 Is Finally Happening — Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro & Josh Brolin Are Reuniting

After years of uncertainty, Sicario is finally returning — and this time, the franchise is bringing its original trio back together.

Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are all set to return for Sicario 3, reuniting the three stars of Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed 2015 crime thriller. The new movie is being developed by Black Label Media and Thunder Road, with Padraic McKinley attached to direct and Oscar-nominated writer Steven Knight handling the screenplay.

For fans who have been waiting since Sicario: Day of the Soldado in 2018, this is a seriously exciting development.

But there’s one reason this movie feels particularly special:

Kate Macer is coming back.

The Original Trio Is Back

The biggest news isn’t simply that Sicario 3 is happening.

It’s who is returning.

Emily Blunt will reprise her role as FBI agent Kate Macer, while Benicio Del Toro returns as Alejandro Gillick and Josh Brolin is back as Matt Graver.

That combination hasn’t been seen since the original Sicario in 2015.

Blunt’s Kate Macer was noticeably absent from Sicario: Day of the Soldado, while Del Toro and Brolin carried the story forward as Alejandro and Graver.

Now all three characters can finally share the same movie again.

And considering where the first two films left these characters, there is plenty of unfinished business.

Steven Knight Is Writing the Next Chapter

One of the biggest changes behind the camera is the arrival of Steven Knight.

The Peaky Blinders creator and Oscar-nominated screenwriter is writing the new screenplay. Knight is working on the script with director Padraic McKinley and incorporating notes from the returning stars.

That’s a fascinating choice.

The first two Sicario movies were written by Taylor Sheridan, who created the franchise before building his enormous television empire with projects such as Yellowstone and its many spin-offs.

Sheridan isn’t writing this new chapter.

Instead, Knight is taking over the screenplay duties, potentially giving Sicario 3 a slightly different voice while retaining the morally complicated world that made the first two movies so compelling.

A New Director Is Taking Over

Sicario 3 will also have a completely different director.

Padraic McKinley, who made his feature directorial debut with The Weight, is attached to direct the movie.

That means the franchise has now gone through three different directors across three movies:

– Denis Villeneuve — Sicario

– Stefano Sollima — Sicario: Day of the Soldado

– Padraic McKinley — Sicario 3

It’s an interesting evolution for a franchise that has always relied heavily on its directors’ individual styles.

Villeneuve gave the original film its haunting atmosphere, methodical pacing and unforgettable visual language, while Sollima pushed the sequel toward a more aggressive and action-heavy approach.

McKinley now has the difficult task of creating his own identity while following in the footsteps of two major filmmakers.

Kate Macer’s Return Changes Everything

For me, this is arguably the most exciting part of the announcement.

Kate Macer wasn’t just another character in Sicario.

She was the audience’s entry point into that world.

Through Kate, viewers experienced the increasingly disturbing reality of the U.S.-Mexico drug war and the morally questionable methods used by the people supposedly fighting it.

She began the movie believing there were clear lines between right and wrong.

By the end, those lines had almost completely disappeared.

Her absence from Day of the Soldado left a noticeable gap in the franchise.

Now she’s coming back.

And after everything she experienced in the first film, the obvious question is:

What has happened to Kate since we last saw her?

What About Alejandro and Matt Graver?

The other two pieces of the puzzle are equally important.

Benicio Del Toro’s Alejandro remains one of the most fascinating characters in the franchise — a deeply damaged man whose personal history is inseparable from his brutal approach to the cartel war.

Meanwhile, Josh Brolin’s Matt Graver represents the ruthless government machinery operating in the shadows.

The relationship between Alejandro and Graver became the heart of Day of the Soldado, while Kate’s presence in the original provided a completely different perspective.

Putting all three together again could create an entirely different dynamic.

And that is where Sicario 3 has the potential to become something more than simply another sequel.

The Story Is Being Kept Secret

Right now, plot details are being kept firmly under wraps.

That’s probably for the best.

The filmmakers aren’t revealing exactly how Kate, Alejandro and Graver will become involved with each other again, although the previous films leave plenty of potential directions for the story.

The ending of Day of the Soldado also left Alejandro alive and seemingly preparing Miguel Hernandez for a possible future in the world of assassins.

Whether Sicario 3 follows directly from that storyline remains unclear.

For now, the story is officially a mystery.

And honestly, I’d rather keep it that way.

When Will Sicario 3 Start Filming?

Production is currently expected to begin in early 2027.

There is currently no announced release date.

Another interesting detail is that the film doesn’t yet have a confirmed distributor.

Lionsgate distributed both previous movies, but Black Label Media and Thunder Road are reportedly planning to take Sicario 3 to the market, with multiple studios already showing interest.

So even the question of where audiences will eventually watch the movie remains open.

Can Sicario 3 Live Up to the Original?

That’s the difficult question.

The original Sicario wasn’t simply a conventional action thriller.

It was cold, tense and deeply unsettling.

Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins created an atmosphere where even seemingly quiet scenes felt dangerous. The movie also introduced audiences to Sheridan’s morally complicated writing and established Alejandro as one of modern crime cinema’s most memorable characters.

The sequel went in a different direction.

It was more violent and more focused on Alejandro and Graver.

Now Sicario 3 has an opportunity to combine the strengths of both films.

Bring back the moral perspective of Kate Macer.

Bring back the dangerous chemistry between Alejandro and Graver.

Then put all three into a completely new story.

That’s a potentially powerful combination.

Geeksterr Take

Holy shit, this is the Sicario reunion I’ve been waiting for.

Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin back together in the same movie is already enough to make Sicario 3 one of the most interesting upcoming crime thrillers.

But I’m even more curious about what Steven Knight and Padraic McKinley do with it.

The biggest challenge isn’t making Sicario 3 bigger.

It’s making it feel like Sicario.

Don’t turn it into a generic action movie.

Don’t lose the uncomfortable moral ambiguity.

Don’t sacrifice the tension for explosions.

Give these characters a story that actually justifies bringing them back together.

If the filmmakers get that balance right, Sicario 3 could be more than a long-awaited sequel.

It could be the comeback chapter this franchise deserves.

And after eight years, I’m more than ready to go back to the land of the wolves.