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The filmmaker responsible for the Knives Out franchise discusses his interest in expanding the franchise beyond the third entry.
Posted in: Movies, Netflix | Tagged: Knives Out, netflix, wake up dead man: a knives out mystery
Knives Out Director Says the Franchise Has More Stories to Tell
The filmmaker responsible for the Knives Out franchise discusses his interest in expanding the franchise beyond the third entry.
Article Summary
- Knives Out director Rian Johnson hints at expanding the franchise beyond the upcoming third film.
- Daniel Craig continues as Benoit Blanc, anchoring new mysteries and fresh ensemble casts.
- Franchise success relies on inventive stories, critical praise, and audience enthusiasm.
- With Wake Up Dead Man set for release, talk of a fourth Knives Out already sparks excitement.
Knives Out has been popular since its 2019 release, and it certainly helps that each entry stacks a fresh ensemble around Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc. With two films in the books and a third arriving this year, a fourth is already part of the conversation. Now, franchise writer-director Rian Johnson is opening up to The Hollywood Reporter about the status of the next entry (and how long he'd like to tell Knives Out stories).
He explains, "I got nothing. If you have anything, I'll take it. I think it's good to totally empty the well and then start from scratch on the next one. As long as Daniel and I have fun doing it, and he wants to do them, as long as audiences like them, and also as long as we can keep challenging ourselves and coming up with something that's genuinely new. We're on the same page that the moment, it feels like we're just turning the crank on another one."
The Knives Out Franchise (So Far)
The first film set the tone. Benoit Blanc is hired to probe the death of wealthy mystery author Harlan Thrombey, and a quirky, sharp-tongued family quickly turns the investigation into a cinematic chess match. It initially premiered at TIFF in September 2019 and hit theaters later that year, earning strong reviews and more than $300 million worldwide. The cast included Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, and Christopher Plummer, with Craig anchoring the whodunit. Glass Onion followed in 2022, also premiering at TIFF, enjoying a one-week theatrical run before launching on Netflix the following month. Upon release, it was praised for maintaining the series' puzzle-box structure while swapping settings and suspects for a tech-mogul romp, again drawing warm critical notices.
Next up is Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Similar to the sequel, the film will earn a limited theatrical release this November before Netflix drops the film on December 12, 2025. In addition to Craig's return, the next entry to the franchise also includes names like Glenn Close, Josh O'Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, and Andrew Scott.
For now, the immediate focus is the third outing, but at the very least, we now know that there's a chance these films could be around for a long time.
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