11 Years Ago Today: Taylor Sheridan Debuted The Most Important Crime Thriller Of The 2010s

Sometimes, it's good to look back and appreciate just what was happening in the world of entertainment in the past. That's precisely what anniversaries are for, and as it happens, September 18, 2026 is a special day for fans of great movies and Taylor Sheridan alike.

11 years ago today, the Sheridan-penned "Sicario" premiered, and the 2015 movie has since established itself as arguably the most important crime drama of its decade. This action thriller with heavy neo-Western flavors was directed by Denis Villeneuve, and starred Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin. 

A relentless and ruthless look at the U.S. war against drugs, "Sicario" follows a massive CIA operation against a cartel, with Blunt's FBI Special Agent Kate Macer winding up in the middle of events after a successful raid earns her the attention of the powers that be. However, it soon becomes apparent that Brolin's CIA man Matt Graver knows far more about the grand scope of things than he lets on, and del Toro's mysterious assassin Alejandro Gillick keeps making brazen moves that initially seem slightly out of sync with the rest of the plot.

The movie does eventually reveal its cards, and the payoff is just as thrilling as the journey. While the three Academy Award nominations "Sicario" received didn't include a nod for Sheridan's screenplay, it's an amazing movie all the way through, thanks to the stellar work of everyone involved.

Many fine crime thrillers are unique works that leave the viewer hungry for more. The same can be said for "Sicario," but fortunately, this movie definitely doesn't exist in a vacuum. While Sicario seems like a standalone film and effortlessly works as one, Taylor Sheridan actually considers his first three movies a trilogy that examines a string of endemic issues in America. As such, you can easily follow "Sicario" with "Hell or High Water" — which David Mackenzie directed from Sheridan's script — and "Wind River," which Sheridan both wrote and directed.

What's more, "Sicario" itself has a sequel, the 2018 film "Sicario: Day of the Soldado," directed by Stefano Sollima and written by Sheridan. "Sicario 3" is also in development under the working title "Sicario: Capos." If all of this isn't enough — or if you've simply seen "Sicario" and adjacent works so many times that you know them all by heart — Looper has a nice list of movies like "Sicario" that's calling your name.