The trailer to Denis Villeneuve's upcoming film "Sicario" was unveiled showcasing an action packed thriller with an all-star cast.

The new movie, starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, tells the story of an idealistic FBI agent, who is enlisted by an elite government task force official to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past, the team sets out on a clandestine journey, forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive.

The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where opened in the competition slate and scored rave reviews. While it did not win a single award at the competition, it was still one of the most respected at the festival.

The film in particular was praised for Emily Blunt's performance. The actress immediately obtained awards buzz and was prompted to be one of the Best Actress Contenders for this year.

Blunt is an acclaimed actress who won a Golden Globe for "Gideon's Daughter" and later obtained Golden Globe nominations for "The Devil Wears Prada," "Salmon Fishing on the Yemen," "Into the Woods" and "The Young Victoria." However, the Oscar has eluded her, particularly in a film that is dominated by a woman.

Del Toro, who won the Oscar for his work on "Traffic," also received rave reviews. Brolin, who was Oscar nominated for "Milk," was also praised.

It also helps that Villeneuve has become one of the most beloved filmmakers of his generation. Ever since his breakout for "Incendies," which was nominated for the Oscar, the director has went on to make "Prisoners," an acclaimed thriller which won at the Toronto Film Festival and "Enemy," which saw the director in an experimental form. "Sicario," for most critics, saw Villeneuve move back to the same ground as "Prisoners," which was loved but was not considered awards worthy.

"Sicario" may have a hard time obtaining a Best Picture nomination when it is released in September, but it will surely obtain buzz for Blunt and definitely have cinematographer Roger Deakins on the radar.

After all Deakins was nominated for "Prisoners," and the director photography is among the most respected in the industry and has been nominated 12 times. The cinematographer has never won and at this point he is overdue.

Lionsgate will release the feature and the company has had experience with awards campaigns. In 2005, the company unexpectedly took the Best Picture award for "Crash," a film that is not your typical Oscar contender and which critics today call it among the worst to take the award. If the company was successful with that film, "Sicario" could surprise

The film is slated for release on Sept. 18. The movie was written by Taylor Sheridan and also stars Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey Donovan.