Sicario 3 reportedly moving ahead with Blunt, Del Toro, Brolin and director Padraic McKinley

Centre · 1Deadline reported on 5 October 2026, citing sources, that Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are returning for Sicario 3, which Black Label Media and Thunder Road are producing. 1 Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter, which Deadline's report preceded, said it had confirmed that the three stars are set to return, and described the project as a possible trilogy capper; it noted that Blunt would play domestic agent Kate Macer, with Del Toro as Alejandro Gillick and Brolin as Matt Graver. 2 Centre · 1Padraic McKinley, director of The Weight, is on board to direct, and Oscar nominee Steven Knight wrote the script; plot details are being kept under wraps. 1

Centre · 1According to Deadline's sources, all three stars agreed to return after reading Knight's latest draft, and McKinley won the job after a thorough search in which producers and the lead cast both met candidates. 1 Centre · 1McKinley and Knight are working on the script with notes from the stars, and the plan is to shoot at the start of next year. 1 Centre · 1Lionsgate released the first two films, but Deadline's sources say the project will be taken to market, with several studios already interested. 1

Centre · 1Screen Rant relayed Deadline's report under a headline saying the film is confirmed, but its text says the three stars are "in talks" to reprise their roles. 3 Centre · 2Screen Rant says Knight, known for Peaky Blinders, is the first writer in the series other than Taylor Sheridan, who created the franchise. 3 1 Mixed · 2Collider says Sheridan is no longer involved in the creative process on the series, with Knight taking over scripting and McKinley directing; the Hollywood Reporter instead notes that Sheridan originated the characters and always envisioned a trilogy. 4 2

Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter says the film was delayed by the 2023 Hollywood writers strike and that there is no word on a storyline; it quotes Black Label's Molly Smith saying in 2023 that the company was ready to move once the strike ended. 2 Centre · 1The first film came out in 2015 and launched Denis Villeneuve as a top-tier director, and the sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado, with Del Toro and Brolin, reached cinemas in 2018. 1 Centre · 1Collider adds that the first film earned $84.9 million worldwide against a reported $30 million budget and three Oscar nominations, that the two films made around $160 million together, and that the franchise has been dormant for eight years; Day of the Soldado was directed by Stefano Sollima without Villeneuve or Blunt. 4

Centre · 1Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill produce for Black Label, Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee for Thunder Road, and Ed McDonnell returns as a producer. 1