Rian Johnson teases “gothic” style for ‘Knives Out’ sequel ‘Wake Up Dead Man’
Knives Out director Rian Johnson has teased a completely different atmosphere for the next sequel, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, the two-time Oscar nominee revealed that the next instalment would be “incredibly different from Glass Onion“.
He added, “It’s much more a Gothic, much more grounded tone. It’s more similar to the first one in that way. It kind of gets back to the real origins of the genre, which, predating [Agatha] Christie, go back to [Edgar Allan] Poe.”
Johnson has sat in the directorial seat for two beloved murder-mystery films now: 2019’s Knives Out and 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. However, Johnson insisted that he always likes to keep things fresh, even if his projects are from the same universe. Indeed, this “gothic tone” is seen in the teaser trailer, which opens with a skull submerged in a grimy liquid, staring ominously out at the watcher.
He said, “If I feel like I’m repeating the same thing, or turning the crank on the handle and turning out more of what I did last time, I’m not good enough to hide that from the audience.”
He used a helpful analogy to describe creative stagnation, adding, “After three years of working on something that has a particular tone, it’s like you’ve been eating the same thing for lunch every day for three years. I’m more excited about doing something that feels new.”
Johnson recently reacted against the Netflix co-CEO’s comments that cinemas are “outdated” and “not for everybody”.
He disagreed with this claim, stressing instead, “We’ve seen if you put a movie people want to see in the theatres, they are going to show up for it, and that experience of being in a full house and having that experience is so important. It’s something that I love and I want more of in the world.”
Daniel Craig will return as the astute detective at the heart of a new case. Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church will also star.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is scheduled for release by Netflix on December 12th.
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