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Sicariowas, in many ways, the first film that introduced the mainstream audience to the brilliance of Taylor Sheridan as a scriptwriter. Denis Villeneuve, although present in the movie scene since the late 90s, was the only director who could have brought Sheridan’s twisted vision of complex human behavior to the screens without ruining the original story.
![Taylor Sheridan’s Sicario [Credit: Lionsgate Films]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/11114618/Emily-Blunt-and-Daniel-Kaluuya-in-Sicario-Credit-Lionsgate-Films.jpg)
Emily Blunt and Daniel Kaluuya inSicario[Credit: Lionsgate Films]Those among the fans who hadn’t been aware of Villeneuve’s existence in the form ofPolytechnique(2009) orIncendies(2010) surely sat up and took notice. Soon after, Taylor Sheridan and Denis Villeneuve became part of those rare handful of writer-directors whose names increased ticket sales just as much as any A-lister would. Ultimately,Sicariolaunched them both into the Hollywood stratosphere.
Taylor Sheridan Speaks to the Politics inSicario(2015)
Taylor Sheridanenjoys a degree of artistic expression and respect in the industry one could only dream of. But a brilliance of his caliber is neither taught nor born out of necessity. Years of rotting away in B-grade shows with minimal screentime, bad writing, and poor pay, gave Sheridan enough incentive, experience, and motivation to bet all the chips on himself and take a leap of faith.
Emily Blunt inSicario[Credit: Lionsgate Films]After going through hundreds of subpar scripts, the writer-director was at least aware of the tropes he needed to avoid to strive for excellence. WithSicario, Sheridan went above and beyond by doing his fair share of research and interviews on the subject. In aninterview withVariety, he claimed:
![Emily Blunt in Sicario [Credit: Lionsgate Films]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/11114624/Emily-Blunt-in-Sicario-Credit-Lionsgate-Films.jpg)
Alejandro’s motivation for what he does, it’s understandable. It’s palpable, all that he’s lost. He was Kate before his family was killed. He was a federal prosecutor, by the book; do everything the right way and justice will prevail. And then it didn’t, in the most gruesome of ways. And he embraced the notion that the only way to win is to kill them all until maybe someone stops buying this garbage.
I’m a big believer in, ‘”If anyone can understand my politics, I’ve failed.” If you can get a sense of which side of the fence I’m on, then I’m not doing a service. I’m preaching, and that’s not my job. And I don’t have the answer anyway.
Sicario 3: Even Taylor Sheridan Cannot Deliver the Franchise a Perfect Ending for an Upsetting Reason
Rare as it may be to find a combination of good script and director these days,Sicarioexists as a seminal example of brilliant writing and execution on both Taylor Sheridan andDenis Villeneuve‘s part. However, it was also the contribution of a stellar cast involvingEmily Blunt, Daniel Kaluuya, Josh Brolin, andBenicio Del Torothat served justice to Sheridan and Villeneuve’s combined vision.
Taylor Sheridan Establishes His Dominance as a Writer
Every great writer-director in Hollywood has had a peculiar fascination with one genre or the other – be it Quentin Tarantino’s obsession with cinematic violence or Christopher Nolan’s with time. As such, Taylor Sheridan has been blessed with a keen eye for the great American Western and it is through that very genre that he has ultimately found his true calling in the industry.
Benicio Del Toro inSicario(2015) [Credit: Lionsgate Films]After the blinding success ofSicario, the 2016 Western heist thriller,Hell or High Waterwon him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. A year later, his directorial debut withWind River, which would predate his more fleshed-out idea of theYellowstoneuniverse, also got him recognized among the Director’s Guild of America.
![Benicio Del Toro in Sicario (2015) [Credit: Lionsgate Films]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/11114630/Benicio-Del-Toro-in-Sicario-2015-Credit-Lionsgate-Films.jpeg)
In 2018, Sheridan negotiated a deal with Paramount to launchYellowstoneon their nascent streaming service, a series that continues to bear fruit to this day. With two prequels already released and two more spin-offs on the way,Yellowstoneproves to be the goose that lays the golden eggs.
“I’m a f**king wreck after six months”: Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan’s Merciless Schedule is Something Even Kevin Costner Will Bow Down To
As for Taylor Sheridan, his inability to run out of groundbreaking ideas has supplied Paramount+ with series such asMayor of Kingstown,Tulsa King,Special Ops: Lioness,Lawmen: Bass Reeves,Land Man, and many more. Starring A-listers and covering a wide variety of genres, Sheridan’s work seems far from finished as he sets out to develop6666,1994,2024, andEmpire of the Summer Moonwithin the next year.
Sicariois available for streaming on MGM+ and Prime Video.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
