Rian Johnson teases third ‘Knives Out’ movie
Director Rian Johnson is just getting to see his second Knives Out movie, Glass Onion, hit theatres this week. A delirious and head-spinning return to the mystery genre, Johnson explores a whole new world of oddball characters and bizarre motives while anchoring the film with Daniel Craig’s haughty southern detective Benoit Blanc.
It might seem as though Johnson couldn’t even begin to think about another film in the franchise, but as it turns out, the director is already getting revved up for the third movie in the Knives Out series.
“It’s interesting. We structured the [Netflix deal] so that if I wanted to do something else next, I could,” Johnson told Deadline. “And I think everybody assumed I’d have a couple other random ideas — unrelated projects — that I’ve been kicking around. But, honestly, over the past couple of months, the most exciting creative thing to me right now is that third movie.”
“And so, I think I’m going to hop right into it,” Johnson shares. “Not because of a contractual obligation, but, genuinely, that’s the shiny object I find my nose pointed toward right now. [It’s] the idea of figuring out how it can be completely different from this one as well as the first one.”
Johnson admits in the interview that part of his drive to make another Knives Out film is the inherent limitations of the mystery genre. While giving a nod to legendary author Agatha Christie, Johnson remained unmoved by the paltry crop of films that he could pull inspiration from.
“It’s tough, because it’s not an expansive genre,” Johnson says. “It’s not like there are thousands of classics, like film noir, where it feels like there’s unlimited amount of stuff to draw from. There’s been plenty of different Agatha Christie adaptations over the years, and those are always fun to dig into. But in terms of actual innovative stuff in the genre, you do find yourself coming back to the same titles.”
“It’s funny, because every time we release a Knives Out movie, I’m asked, ‘What are the five whodunnits that you would recommend to people?’ And it’s going to be very frustrating by the third movie to be naming the same five over and over again,” Johnson concludes. “That’s why I’m trying to dig deeper into the genre and see if there’s any hidden gems I’m missing.”
Netflix has already secured the rights to a third Knives Out film, and with Johnson’s apparent desire to return to the series, it seems like only a matter of time before we get Knives Out 3: The Walrus Was Paul.
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