Josh Brolin weighs in on ‘Sicario 3’ moving forward without Taylor Sheridan as original stars return
Josh Brolin has responded to the news that ‘Sicario 3’ will proceed without Taylor Sheridan as its writer. Speaking with ScreenRant at New York Comic Con 2026, the actor complimented the work of new director Padraic McKinley and noted that he has brought strong notes to the script. Brolin called the change in writer a complicated process, but said he is excited to reunite with Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt and that “we all can’t wait to get on set.” “We adore each other, and we’ve all worked together before. Benicio and I, this will be our sixth film together. It’s fantastic [to work with Emily again]. I just sent her a little voice memo yesterday, and I just adore her, I adore her. I think the work right now has reached a level that’s just untouchable,” he said.
The circumstances behind this script change may be found in a Deadline report. The outlet reports that Black Label Media and Thunder Road are returning Blunt, del Toro, and Brolin, with McKinley directing a screenplay by Oscar nominee Steven Knight. The three stars agreed to return after reading Knight’s latest script, and met prospective directors and producers before McKinley got the job. McKinley and Knight are already working through notes from the cast, and plan to begin shooting at the beginning of next year.
It means this is the first ‘Sicario’ film not written by Sheridan. He came to the franchise from acting, and his early credits include ‘Sons of Anarchy’ and ‘Veronica Mars,’ where the 2015 original was his first screenplay. Denis Villeneuve directed that film, which competed against the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and received three Oscar nominations. Villeneuve later cast Brolin as Gurney Halleck in ‘Dune.’ ‘Sicario’ was also the first in Sheridan’s American Frontier trilogy, which ‘Hell or High Water’ and ‘Wind River’ would also complete. Fast forward to today and Sheridan runs a television slate built around ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Landman,’ having earned an Oscar nomination for writing ‘Hell or High Water’ and writing and directing ‘Wind River’ in 2017.
Interestingly, the line-up for ‘Sicario 3’ is closer to the first film than the second one. Del Toro and Brolin continued into ‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado,’ the sequel which came out June 29, 2018, directed by Stefano Sollima and written by Sheridan. Villeneuve refused to return for the sequel, and Jeffrey Donovan was among the returning cast. Blunt was nowhere to be found in the sequel, so Kate Macer has been off-screen since the first film. What’s more, ‘Soldado’ placed Graver and Alejandro at the heart, with Isabela Merced’s Isabel Reyes and newcomer Catherine Keener, ending with Alejandro teaming up with Miguel Hernandez (Elijah Rodriguez). The third film would reunite all three original stars for the first time since 2015.
