Sicario: From the Myth of the Hitman to the Brutal World of Reality
There's something about the word sicario that just sticks with you. Translated directly, it means "hitman" in Spanish, but in the real world—and in film—it covers something far more complex. It’s the shadow operating in the no man's land between law and anarchy. Right now, we're experiencing a massive resurgence of interest in the phenomenon. On one hand, Sicario 2: Soldado is blazing across TV screens again, and on the other, we're reminded that contract killings, unfortunately, aren't just something that happens in Hollywood. In fact, the real-life stories are closer than most of us realize.
Soldado Hits the Screen Again – And Capos is on the Way
If you've watched TV recently, you've probably noticed Sicario 2: Soldado airing again. That 2018 film, directed by Stefano Sollima, took a turn away from the first movie's moral compass (goodbye, Emily Blunt's Kate Macer) and instead dove deep into the mud with Benicio Del Toro's Alejandro and Josh Brolin's ice-cold Matt Graver. It's a raw experience where the lines between agent and hitman have long been erased. And for those of us who can't get enough of that universe, there's good news: according to sources close to the production, producer Basil Iwanyk has confirmed that Sicario 3 is still in the works. The working title is reportedly Sicario: Capos (meaning "chiefs" or "bosses"), and the idea is so compelling that they've just been waiting for the right time to finish writing it. Del Toro is set to return as the enigmatic Alejandro—a character you just never get tired of watching. Rumors are swirling, and there's talk that both Brolin and Blunt are also ready to pick up the thread again if everything falls into place.
- Sicario (2015): Denis Villeneuve's masterpiece that introduces us to agent Kate Macer's nightmare.
- Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018): The war escalates, and Alejandro is sent on an impossible mission.
- Sicario: Capos (2026/2027?): The upcoming third film, set to bring us back to the front lines.
More Than Movies: When the Hitman Came to Canada
But it's not just on the big screen that the word sicario resonates. We don't have to look far to find stories that could have been written by Taylor Sheridan. Recently, we read about a 34-year-old gang leader who has now been charged with ordering a hit in Toronto back in 2021. An innocent 22-year-old man was killed because he was sitting in the wrong chair. It wasn't meant for him, but that's how ruthless reality is. According to information that has come to light during the investigation, the criminal network hired contract killers to do the dirty work. It's hard-hitting realism that matches the darkest fiction.
The same day, it came out that a man received a 13-year prison sentence for acting as a hitman in Canada. He was hired by unknown masterminds to carry out a job that, fortunately, went wrong. It shows that the phenomenon of the American Sicario (also the title of a recent film with Danny Trejo, telling the story of the first American-born drug boss in Mexico) isn't confined to the big screen. The hitman's shadow falls far and wide.
What makes a good Sicario universe so unsettling is precisely this blend. We see fiction play out with new films on the way, while at the same time we can open a Canadian news site and read about a hitman charged in a Vancouver courtroom. It's as if the line between the world we see on screen and the world we live in is becoming more and more porous. And that's exactly why we remain fascinated—because we sense that just below the surface, the same darkness that Alejandro navigates is simmering.
So, the next time you see Soldado playing on the screen, or you're looking forward to Capos landing in theatres, just remember that hitmen aren't just something we see in movies. They are part of our reality, and the stories show that the sicario phenomenon is more relevant than ever.