The original "Sicario" director tips his hat to sequel helmer Stefano Sollima in his enthusiastic response to the follow-up.

Denis Villeneuve’s lack of involvement in “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” has made fans of the original a bit nervous about what to expect from the follow-up, but the filmmaker is here to assure moviegoers the sequel is a worthy follow-up to his original. The “Sicario” sequel is directed by Stefano Sollima, the Italian director best known for “Suburra” and helming numerous episodes of the series “Gomorrah.” He also served as the drama’s showrunner and executive producer.

Villeneuve first reacted to “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” by telling producers, “[The sequel is] a knockout. Sollima did a masterful follow up to ‘Sicario.’ I was blown away!” When asked for further comment by IndieWire, the “Blade Runner 2049” director had more praise to share about the film.

“Having seen his film, I’m proud to say that Stefano did an impressive, powerful, masterful follow-up,” Villeneuve told IndieWire. “It’s a hell of a good movie!”

“Sicario: Day of the Soldado” centers around Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin’s Alejandro Gillick and Matt Graver, respectively. The operatives are tasked with kidnapping the daughter of a drug kingpin in an attempt to start a war between rival cartels. Alejenadro is ordered to kill the daughter (Isabela Moner) when the mission goes awry, but the mysterious assassin refuses and goes rogue in order to protect her.

Villeneuve’s original, released in September 2015, earned three Oscar nominations and also starred Emily Blunt. Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan wrote the new film as an anthology follow-up and not a direct sequel, which is why Blunt’s character is not the focus this time around. Villeneuve decided against directing the sequel due to his busy schedule, which included making “Blade Runner 2049” at the time.

“Sicario: Day of the Soldado” opens in theaters June 29.

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