Emily Blunt Almost Lost Her 'Sicario' Female Lead to a Man

Emily Blunt and her cast members Josh Brolin (with new fiancee Kathryn Boyd) and Benicio Del Toro arrive for the Sicario premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (May 19) in Cannes, France.

It was revealed in a press conference earlier in the day that the 32-year-old actress’ role in the film was almost changed to be a male character.

“He [screenwriter Taylor Sheridan] wrote the screenplay a few years ago and people were afraid because the lead was a female character,” French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve said (via Vanity Fair). “I know that the screenwriter was asked several times to rewrite the part. The pressure came before Lionsgate came on board but those guys had the guts to…that is crazy that I am even saying that right now: ‘Had the guts.’”

Emily is getting raves for her work in the film.

FYI: Emily is wearing a Stella McCartney dress, Casadei shoes and Anna Hu jewels.