Emily Blunt Boards Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario

It’s been a good day for director Denis Villeneuve. Earlier, we learned that he had snagged Amy Adams for his upcoming sci-fi thriller Story Of Your Life and now, we’re hearing that he’s managed to bring on another beautiful leading lady for the other film he has in production, Sicario.

Variety is reporting that Emily Blunt will star in the director’s upcoming crime thriller, which follows “an officer from Tuscon who travels across the border to Mexico with a pair of mercenaries in order to track down a drug lord. ” Production on the film will get underway this summer but as of now, Blunt is the only confirmed cast member, so I’d expect to see many more casting announcements in the next few weeks.

Now, unfortunately, Variety doesn’t specify which role the actress will play. But, considering that they say she’ll be starring, I imagine that she’ll taking on the part of the Tuscon officer. If that’s the case, then that means that this will give Blunt some meaty material to work with, rather than just having her play a damsel in distress or one of the character’s girlfriends.

Blunt, known for playing love interests in sci-fi fare like The Adjustment Bureau and Looper, has been steadily gaining credibility as a leading actress. This yeart, she’ll star alongside Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow and take on a main role in Rob Marshall’s musical fantasy Into the Woods.

In my mind, the only big question mark with Sicario is its script. Sons of Anarchy star Taylor Sheridan is credited with it, and seeing as he’s never done any screenplays up until this point, there’s no telling whether or not Sicario will be able to add anything to the crime thriller genre.

With cameras set to roll this summer, Sicario will get underway before Story Of Your Life, so I’d expect to be seeing this project hit theaters at some point next year. Given Villeneuve’s extraordinary track record – which includes the brilliant Incendies, gripping Prisoners and twisty Enemy – there’s ample reason to start getting excited for Sicario.