Daniel Craig is on the case in new image from Rian Johnson’s Knives Out

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Between STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI and developing a new STAR WARS trilogy, Rian Johnson will be spending a considerable amount of time in a galaxy far, far away, but thankfully, he found the time to return to his roots with the upcoming KNIVES OUT, a dark comedy/mystery with a star-studded cast. A contemporary whodunnit in the vein of Agatha Christie, KNIVES OUT looks like an absolute ball and Empire has a new image from the film featuring Daniel Craig, Lakeith Stanfield, and Noah Segan.

Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc, a brilliant detective who is tasked with cracking the case. Rian Johnson told Empire that the detective's name is his homage to Agatha Christie's famed Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. "Coming into it, being such a big fan of Poirot, it was hard to know even where to begin in terms of creating a new detective that’s going to hold a candle to that," said Johnson. "Benoit Blanc has some of the elements of Poirot, in that he’s a bit self-inflated, but there’s a warmth to him which shines through with Daniel." The influence of Agatha Christie vibe is quite strong throughout the entire film, with Johnson saying that he "was thinking about the Agatha Christie movies that had Peter Ustinov as Poirot when when I was writing this. They were my tonal touchstones, with that sense of an all-star cast, a bunch of actors you love to see, having a blast."

The official synopsis for KNIVES OUT:

Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in KNIVES OUT, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death. With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell, KNIVES OUT is a witty and stylish whodunit guaranteed to keep audiences guessing until the very end.

KNIVES OUT will hit theaters on November 27, 2019.