A couple days after world premiering “Knives Out” to rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, Rian Johnson is already kickstarting sequel talk. In a new interview with Uproxx, Johnson says he is open to the idea of a “Knives Out” follow-up despite having an aversion to directing sequels. Johnson was inspired to make “Knives Out” based on his love of Agatha Christie mystery novels, and that’s exactly the blueprint he would follow if he were to make another “Knives Out” movie.
“I’ll tell you, the truth is I had such a great time working with Daniel Craig and I had so much fun doing this on every level, from writing it to making it,” Johnson said. “I’ve never really been interested in doing sequels, but this, the idea of doing more of these with Daniel as his character, is not sequels. It’s just what Agatha Christie did. It’s just coming up with a whole new mystery, a whole new location, all new cast, whole new mechanics of the appeal of a mystery and everything. It’d be a blast.”
Craig stars in “Knives Out” as Benoit Blanc, an idiosyncratic detective who just so happens to be a brilliant mind when it comes to solving murder mysteries. In many ways, Benoit is Johnson’s own version of Agatha Christie’s famous detective character Hercule Poirot. Christie’s character appeared in several novels, each with its own storyline and characters. If Johnson were to start a “Knives Out” film franchise, it would consist of movies where Craig’s Benoit appears to solve new murders.
Of course, all “Knives Out” sequel talks are incredibly premature. In the upcoming film, Craig’s Benoit is called in to investigate the murder of a wealthy crime novelist named Harlan Thrombrey (Christopher Plummer). Benoit becomes convinced that one of Harlan’s family members is behind the murder. The suspects include characters played by Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, and Michael Shannon. Lakeith Stanfield and Ana De Armas also star.
“Knives Out” was met with critical acclaim following its TIFF premiere. In his A- review out of the festival, IndieWire senior film critic David Ehrlich called the movie “hugely entertaining.” Lionsgate is opening “Knives Out” in theaters nationwide November 27.