Sicario 3 is no longer just a rumour. The original trio — Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin, are officially returning for the third film in Denis Villeneuve’s bleak, high-stakes thriller series, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter, TheWrap, and Just Jared. The announcement comes after years of uncertainty, with the project delayed by the 2023 Hollywood writers strike and stalled attempts to find a script that honoured Taylor Sheridan’s original vision. Now, with Padraic McKinley set to direct and Steven Knight writing the screenplay, the franchise appears poised to close its arc. McKinley, whose directorial debut The Weight premiered at Sundance earlier this year, will helm the film, which is expected to begin production in early 2027. Knight, Oscar-nominated for Peaky Blinders, is currently refining the script based on notes from the stars, who reportedly read the latest draft before committing. This isn’t a reimagining. It’s a return. Blunt reprises her role as FBI agent Kate Macer, a character she first played in the 2015 original, while Del Toro returns as Alejandro Gillick and Brolin as Matt Graver. Both of whom appeared in the 2018 sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, though Blunt did not. The first two films were written by Sheridan, who has since pivoted to building a television empire at Paramount+. While he originally planned the trilogy, the script for the third chapter was previously attempted by multiple writers, including Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen, known for the Mission: Impossible sequels. Black Label Media and Thunder Road are producing, with Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, and Thad Luckinbill representing Black Label, and Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee for Thunder Road. Ed McDonnell is also listed as a producer. The original films were released by Lionsgate, but the third entry does not yet have a distributor. According to Deadline, which first reported the casting, Black Label and Thunder Road are actively shopping the project to studios, with several showing interest. Blunt recently starred in The Devil Weas Prada 2 and has A Quiet Place: Part III coming next summer. Brolin is set to appear in Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars, Whalefall, and Dune: Part III. Del Toro wrapped 2025 with roles in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination. The film’s release window remains unconfirmed, but the momentum is clear: after more than a decade, the mission is back on track.