There Might Be A ‘Sicario’ Sequel
Of any film in current release right now, the one that seems least likely to get a sequel isDenis Villeneuve’s drug war thrillerSicario. But that sequel is exactly the one that is supposedly in development right now.
Since most of you haven’t seenSicarioyet — it opened in just six theaters this past weekend and will expand over the next couple weeks — we’ll keep any specifics until after the break.
Varietysays that this is a pretty early effort, but that Lionsgate is working with Sicario screenwriterTaylor Sheridanto get a story together, which would be centered on the character played byBenicio del Toroin the original film. Lionsgate execs have interest in his character, but not having seen the film yet I can’t tell you what sort of story there might be for him either in a sequel or prequel sense. The film also stars Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin, but there’s no mention of them for the next film.
It’s kind of a strange report, though, with the article spending a lot more time talking about the Oscar potential for the film than the possible sequel. (And, sure, we’d be happy to see cinematographerRoger Deakinsfinally get a statue for shooting this movie.)
Patrick Wachsberger, co-chair of Lionsgate’s motion picture group says,
This is a movie that needs word of mouth. It’s not an easy title. ‘Sicario’? You have to Google that. You’re not going to wear a t-shirt of that.
What better word of mouth than early talk of a sequel? People wear t-shirts for sequels; saying the studio likes the movie enough to get another one going this early isn’t the worst pitch I’ve heard. (Lionsgate’s PR, by the way, has been sending outSicariot-shirtsas part of the promo push for the movie. They’re pretty neat-looking, and people would totally wear them.)
Sicariodid well in its six-theater opening this past weekend, with a great per-screen average. At $66,881 the film had the highest per-screen average of the year, in fact. We’ll see how it does when the film goes to eleven more cities this coming weekend and then goes wide on October 2.
