Knives Out took the world by surprise in 2019. Not only did the film redeem director Rian Johnson, who some fans still blame for forever ruining Star Wars, but it also went on to gross over $300 million worldwide. Knives Out received overwhelming acclaim from both viewers and critics alike for its unconventional spin on the murder mystery genre, biting social commentary, and the lead performances of Ana de Armas and Daniel Craig, who played detective Benoit Blanc.
Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson are set to return for the upcoming Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but they have a momentous task ahead: making sure the sequel lives up to the first one. After all, it's not easy to follow up on an Oscar-nominated and 97% Rotten Tomatoes-rated film like Knives Out.
However, it’s not uncommon for sequels to eclipse the original, and Daniel Craig has firsthand experience with that. The James Bond alum reinvigorated the franchise with Casino Royale and then again with Skyfall before ending his stint last year with No Time to Die. Sure, Spectre and Quantum of Solace were somewhat lousy sequels, but others are often counted amongst the best action-thrillers of the century.
Craig and Johnson are planning to replicate the success of Knives Out with Glass Onion, but by innovating again rather than simply redoing the original. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Craig said:
"How the f**k do we take something that caught people’s imagination and made them talk about murder mysteries, and do it again without it becoming a pastiche of itself? I’ve spent the past 15 years of my life trying to do that in a franchise, so I’m not afraid of it. If you’ve got the right people in the room and the right talent, then you can do it. Rian’s a genius writer and doesn’t want to repeat [himself]. Neither do we want to let people down; we want audiences to enjoy the world that we created in the first one and believe in this one."
Empire also released a brand-new image of Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, which you can check out below.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Will Arrive On Netflix In Late 2022
Netflix paid big bucks, way more than Lionsgate’s asking price, to acquire the rights to the Knives Out sequels. Amazon shelling out half a billion for Lord of the Rings is still understandable, but Netflix doing the same for Knives Out is just baffling. It appears the streamer has high confidence in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and it’ll be apparent soon enough if the film was worth the investment or not.
Glass Onion is set to premiere at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival on September 10 and will also close out the BFI London Film Festival in October before having a limited release in November. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will ultimately debut on Netflix on December 23, 2022.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Glass Onion has set another ensemble cast for Benoit Blanc’s second whodunit adventure, this time featuring Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, and Ethan Hawke. The early plot synopsis for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery reads:
"When a tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invites some of his nearest and dearest for a getaway on his private Greek island, it soon becomes clear that all is not perfect in paradise. And when someone turns up dead, well, who better than Blanc to peel back the layers of intrigue?"