Getty Benicio del Toro.
The first Sicario was a tense chess game that exposed the U.S. government’s machinations when dealing with Mexican drug cartels (shades of Narcos). It featured a memorable performance by Benicio del Toro, as a former prosecutor whose family was murdered by a cartel and thus has, literally, nothing left but revenge (or so it seems). Now, he’s about to be “let loose.”
Fans appreciated the interplay between del Toro and the naive but proper FBI agent Emily Blunt in Sicario 1, who starts out as a government pawn but begins to realize what she’s gotten into. Those who were fans of del Toro’s performance will be pleased to learn that the sequel is coming down the pike soon, Sicario 2: Soldado. According to EW, Josh Brolin called the sequel “more severe” and “much bigger” than the first movie, whereas “Benicio Del Toro would just add that while Sicario was more of a ‘really hardcore straight line,’ this one ‘is a little more complicated.’”
We got a first look at the Sicario 2 trailer on December 19. When is the film’s release date, though? Expect it in theaters on June 29, 2018. Emily Blunt fans will be disappointed to learn that she’s not a featured character in Sicario 2; rather, the film focuses on del Toro’s character, Alejandro Gillick, and Josh Brolin’s CIA agent, Matt Graver, according to Deadline. Here’s the trailer:
According to The Ringer, “Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water, Wind River) returned to write the script, and Benicio Del Toro is back as Alejandro Gillick, the titular, terrifying hitman.” What made Gillick a fascinating character was the way that his former prosecutor’s morality peeked through the assassin’s determination. His revenge is driven by an understandably deep pain. Look for the sequel to dive into terrorism-related issues at the Mexico/U.S. border.
“How would you define terrorism?” The trailer starts. “The current definition is any individual that uses violence to achieve a political goal. The administration believes that the drug cartels fit that definition.”
Brolin’s character Graver tells a group of higher-ups, “You want to see this through? I’m going to have to get dirty.”
Then he’s seen telling Gillick: “Turning you loose.”
“How loose?” Gillick asks.
“No rules this time.”
We see Gillick then in a different scene, firing a gun. “Adios,” he says as gunfire erupts.
Sicario 2 has handgun finger blasting so you know I’m in.
“You’re going to help us start a war,” the devious Brolin says as the trailer concludes.
“With who?” asks Gillick.
“Everyone.”
Judging from the comments on social media, movie fans can’t wait. Sicario 2 was already trending on Twitter. “CAN. NOT. WAIT. For Sicario 2! Looks amazing,” wrote one fan, echoing the opinion of many others. EW reports that Sicario 2 will explore the complexities of the Gillick character more deeply. “Sicario taught us that Alejandro is a man out for revenge against the people who killed his family. Now he’s thrown into a new assignment involving Isabelle (Isabella Moner), the daughter of a drug lord, and he reaches a moral crossroads,” Entertainment Weekly reports. “The gloves may be off, but he’s at a point where he now ‘either has to follow orders or make the right decision.'” Gillick with no rules raises the question of how far he’s willing to go before he imposes some on himself.