Author: Brian Davids / Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Italian director Stefano Sollima had big shoes to fill with Sicario: Day of the Soldado.
Opening Friday, the film is a follow-up to Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed 2015 drug cartel thriller that impacted Hollywood in ways unexpected for a project that was only a modest box office success.
It earned $84 million on a $30 million production budget, but Sicario‘s mass critical praise and positive word-of-mouth continued to build beyond its theatrical release and saw the film receive three Oscar nominations, including for cinematographer Roger Deakins and late composer Johann Johannsson, who died suddenly in February.Sicario’s success catapulted many of its existing stars and filmmakers, while further introducing newer talent to mainstream audiences including Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. Emily Blunt became a bonafide and bankable lead actor, while Villeneuve’s work on Sicario and his follow-up Arrival put him on the shortlist for seemingly every desirable project in town, ultimately leading him to make Blade Runner 2049 and sign on to Legendary’s high-profile Dune adaptation. While neither Blunt nor Villeneuve are returning, co-leads Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin are coming back with even bigger profiles after going off to play in the billion-dollar sandboxes of Avengers and Star Wars.
Looking at how Sicario impacted Hollywood, it’s fair to say that most filmmakers would be overwhelmed by the idea of following in its footsteps. But once Sicario: Day of the Soldado producers pitched Sollima a standalone anthology film — versus a direct sequel — he couldn’t wait to take on the challenge.
“Oh, I wasn’t intimidated at all,” Sollima told Heat Vision, quickly adding, “To do this job and to do it well, you have to be a little bit crazy.”
During his press tour for Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve noted that one of his requirements for doing the film was that original director Ridley Scott wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder, despite his respect for the legendary filmmaker. Villeneuve paid it forward on Soldado, thinking it wouldn’t be right for him to be looking over Sollima’s shoulder either.
“I never had a conversation with Denis about Soldado, but he sent me a beautiful email the day before I started shooting. Every director is like a fingerprint; we’re all unique,” says Sollima. “Since I run two television shows [Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero], I often have immensely talented directors around me, and I never try to give them advice. I just try to create a healthy environment where they can express their own creativity. I believe this is the best way to successfully collaborate. So, I absolutely appreciate the respect Denis showed me.”
In a conversation with Heat Vision, the filmmaker also shares what he knows about Sicario 3 and his thoughts on deleted scenes for the home entertainment release.
When you were first asked to direct a follow-up to Sicario, a film that set the bar so high thanks to the mastery of Denis Villeneuve and Oscar winner Rogers Deakins, were you intimidated at first or were you motivated by that very bar your peers set?
No, I wasn’t intimidated because Taylor’s script was the kind of movie I love to watch in theaters — and love to make as a filmmaker. I really didn’t struggle with the decision. Out of respect for Sicario, the only thing I asked the producers was that I have the ability to find and choose a completely new crew. I felt this was the only way to make Soldado a standalone piece, a goal the producers also shared.
Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has become a force of nature in just three years since Sicario’s release. What kind of conversations did the two of you have in order to honor the script while still adding your own signature to it?
We condensed the script’s narrative arc in order to preserve and pronounce the soul of the movie. The script was a bit wider in scope at first. Then, we organically pit the two lead characters [played by Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin] against each other, something that wasn’t present in the first draft. Story-wise, I felt it was a really important and interesting turning point. It was also a way to go deeper into the exploration of these two characters.
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