Although the sequel to the acclaimed thriller Sicario, titled Day of the Soldado, is currently doing brisk business at box offices right now, its director Stefano Sollima has already ruled himself out of any involvement in a third movie in the series.

Speaking with Variety this week, Sollima explained that he had always regarded the Sicario movies as an anthology rather than a linear franchise, and therefore they should all be directed by different people.

“Every movie in these series needs to be a standalone that stays in the same world,” he said. “I'd love to watch another chapter of Sicario, but it should be from a different director who has their own specific style. You shouldn't have more than one film from the same director. Then it would be too much like a real franchise.”

Benicio Del ToroBenicio Del Toro is one of the stars of both 'Sicario' movies

The first Sicario film was released in 2015, directed by Denis Villeneuve (who later did Blade Runner 2049) and starring Emily Blunt in the lead role alongside Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin and Daniel Kaluuya.

It did good business at box offices to the extent that a sequel was commissioned. However, it neither starred Blunt nor was directed by Villeneuve, with Italian filmmaker Sollima (previously of Suburra) stepping in to direct a cast that saw del Toro and Brolin return.

Sollima, directing just his third full-length movie, said that he felt it was “cheeky” to even attempt to follow up Villeneuve’s original.

SicarioA still from the first 'Sicario', starring Del Toro, Brolin and Blunt (l-r)

“I knew it was a bit cheeky,” he said. “I knew the audience would wonder why we were doing a sequel to such a beautiful movie, but I felt the idea was so original. We weren't making a franchise, but more of a saga. We're exploring this world with different points of view.”

Asked about Blunt’s omission from the sequel, Sollima explained that she is an “amazing actress, but her role was sort of a moral guidance for the audience. In Soldado we don't have that. This is closer to my vision of storytelling. I prefer not to have a moral guidance for the audience.”

More: ‘Sicario’ – movie review [archive]