The third chapter of Taylor Sheridan's Sicario franchise has a director. Padraic McKinley, who made his feature debut with the Ethan Hawke-led The Weight, is set to helm Sicario 3, according to Deadline. Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin are all in talks to return.
Steven Knight is writing the script. The Peaky Blinders creator and Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Dirty Pretty Things marks the first time in the franchise that Sheridan himself has not written the screenplay.
Black Label Media and Thunder Road, the producing teams behind both previous films, are reuniting for the third entry. A distribution deal has not yet been finalized. The first two films moved through Lionsgate; Day of the Soldado had a split Lionsgate and Sony release.
McKinley's selection continues the franchise's tradition of bringing in a filmmaker with distinct dramatic instincts rather than established franchise credentials. Denis Villeneuve directed the 2015 original; Stefano Sollima took over for Day of the Soldado in 2018, a chapter that notably excluded Blunt's FBI agent Kate Mercer. Her return anchors the story's continuity with the first film.
Josh Brolin said in August 2026 that production was "expected to begin very soon." With a director and principal cast in place, the schedule is now considerably more defined.