Soon after Sicario became a hit at the theatre (not to mention one of many critics’ top films of the 2015) it was announced that a sequel would be happening, but due to previous commitments it was also announced that director Denis Villeneuve unfortunately would be replaced. Then back in June news broke that Emily Blunt wouldn’t have a role to play in the film either, but until now it wasn’t known why.
“That was my decision,” Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan told The Wrap, “and at some point I’m going to have to talk to her about it.” Sheridan said he was writing Emily Blunt’s FBI character Kate Macer out of the film because “Her arc was complete … I couldn’t figure out a way to write a character that would do her talent justice. Look what she went through. It was a difficult role. Here I write this lead character and then I use her as a surrogate for the audience. I make her completely passive against her own will so the audience feels the same impotence that a lot of law enforcement officers feel. I drag her through hell, and betray her in the end. It was an arduous journey for the character, and for Emily. That character had arc.”
Unlike a lot of movie sequels that would find a way to bring back the main character, not to mention the star of the movie, Sheridan decided it didn’t make sense to do so. “What do you do next? She moves to some little town and becomes a sheriff and then gets kidnapped and then we have Taken? I had to tell the story that was true to this role, and I didn’t feel like I could create something with that character that would further that world that would do Emily’s character justice. That said, there could be room for [her character] somewhere else down the road.”
But don’t worry, not Sicario’s sequel Soldado will have some familiar faces. Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin will be returning to complete their stories. Soldado is due to be released in late 2017.
