Rian Johnson's Knives Out was one of the most well-reviewed movies of last year, and thanks as well to a decent box office profit, a sequel is now officially on the way. With Daniel Craig all set to return as the investigator Benoit Blanc, it looks like the actor has found a new franchise on the eve of his swansong as James Bond.

Well, it has now been revealed by Rian Johnson that this was not always a sure thing, as MI6 duties almost kept Daniel Craig from picking up a private detective's license.

"Then it was a very serendipitous moment when the Bond movie pushed three months. This was not like the injury he had; this was before that. It was just a logistic thing, they pushed their schedule, so he suddenly had a window open and we got in there right away and he said yes right away, and we were making the movie right away."

Though Rian Johnson did not write the role for Daniel Craig specifically, he was the director's top choice, so it is difficult to imagine anyone else as Benoit Blanc. But, it sounds like things might not have worked out so well for them both had it not been for No Time to Die's troublesome journey to the big screen. The latest Bond movie had to overcome many obstacles and delays, including an injury that Daniel Craig sustained later on, but it sounds like it was all worth it where Knives Out is concerned.

It is impossible to know how Knives Out would have worked out had Craig not been available because of James Bond, but it is worth noting that Rian Johnson has credited Craig's involvement as a huge factor in getting the rest of the movie's fantastic ensemble cast. So, it is possible that Knives Out may have ended up vastly different simply because of Craig's absence.

The sequel, Knives Out 2 is currently in the works and will find Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc investigating a brand new mystery involving a brand new cast of characters. As for his role as James Bond, Craig will star in his final outing as the famous spy in the upcoming No Time to Die, which picks up five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld. James Bond has left active service but is approached by Felix Leiter, his friend, and a CIA officer, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev was abducted, Bond must confront a danger the likes of which the world has never seen before.

No Time to Die is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous films, with Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, and Billy Magnussen joining the cast.

No Time to Die is scheduled to hit theaters on 10 April, 2020. This comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.