In an age where sci-fi and superhero movies like Avatar: The Way of Water, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dominate the box office, it is refreshing to know how murder mystery films like Knives Out can still command the attention of audiences. Now, following the success of the second film in the series, director Rian Johnson has provided an update about the third installment that fans will be excited to hear.
In an interview published in the latest issue of RadioTimes, the director fielded a couple of questions about the Knives Out franchise. When he was asked about his ideas for the third film, he revealed he is "just starting to figure out what the next one is going to be."
According to the director, he and Daniel Craig – the lead actor – will continue with the franchise as long as they have new and exciting stories to tell. In his words, "We have one more movie in our contract with Netflix, but I don't see it as a trilogy. I see it as an ongoing thing. As long as Daniel [Craig] and I are having fun and coming up with something new and exciting every time, we'll keep doing this as long as we can."
Johnson directed the first installment of the Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery film series in 2019 to massive critical and commercial success. The film earned a 97% positive rating from 467 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and over $312 million at the box office from a $40 million budget. This success caught the attention of many streaming giants, including Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, and they all wanted the rights to its sequels. Netflix, however, outbid its competitors and signed Johnson to a $400 million deal for two sequels, one of which is the recently released film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
When speaking to Variety in September, the 49-year-old scriptwriter-director discussed his creative process for the franchise. Johnson stated the series allowed him to create new stories and not sequels. He explained that his idea is not to create a film that will outdo the previous one but to create a unique film that will surprise and, at the same time, delight its audience.
Meanwhile, Craig confirmed, in a recent interview with Variety, that he would continue in his role as long as Johnson continues to write it. The British actor mentioned he'd discussed the future prospects with Johnson and, when asked if he is open to playing Benoit Blanc for as long as he did James Bond, he responded, "I mean, I should be so lucky! We've discussed it at length and we'd love to keep on making these Knives Out films. As long as we can keep making people laugh, we'll do it."
The latest film in the series, Glass Onion, is written and directed by Johnson. The pseudo-sequel follows master detective Benoit Blanc as he solves a murder case involving a group of friends, including a billionaire. While it ultimately landed on Netflix, it grossed the most amount of a theatrically released Netflix movie, even though it had a brief run and showed in select theaters.
