‘Sicaro’ sequel, ‘Soldado’ adds Matthew Modine as Secretary of Defense

Sicario was one of the biggest surprise films of 2015, shockingly delivering a powerful commentary and examination on the border crisis in America. Now the studio moves forward with a follow-up and Deadline reports that Matthew Modine will be joining the cast.

“Modine, who was recently nominated for a Screen Actor’s Guild Award as part of the cast of Netflix’s critically acclaimed original drama Stranger Things, has joined Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin in the Sicario sequel Soldado,” Deadline reported.

“The Lionsgate/Black Label Media crime thriller is being directed by Stefano Sollima and was written by Taylor Sheridan. In the film, Modine portrays Secretary of Defense Director James Ridley opposite Catherine Keener, who plays his Deputy Director. Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk, Black Label’s Molly Smith and Thad and Trent Luckinbill, and Edward McDonnell are producing the film.”

While Emily Blunt was rumored to be returning early on in development, that is not the case.

Soldado does offer up a strong cast with Isabela Moner, who also stars in Transformers: The Last Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, returning as Steve Forsing from Sicario, Jackamoe Buzzell (Hell or High Water, A Million Ways to Die in the West), David Castaneda (End of Watch) and Chris Adams from The Originals.

After disappearing into obscure roles and films, Modine landed a spot in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises and then Jobs with Michael Fassbender. After success on the TV show Proof, Modine landed the great role in Stranger Things, re-launching his brand and getting attention of the casting agents.

Soldado is not only a follow-up to Sicario, it appears the studio sees the project as the middle chapter in a trilogy of sorts. While there is no official date, expect Soldado to arrive in theaters in the fall to qualify for Oscar considerations.