How Rian Johnson landed those major Glass Onion cameos

As I haven’t had time to check out Glass Onion for myself yet, I’m not sure if these cameos could be considered spoilers, but… we’ll keep the relevant information under the trailer to be safe. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix, and audiences have been flocking to the latest star-studded Benoit Blanc mystery, but the surprises aren’t just limited to plot twists, as there are also a few fun cameos.

If you’ve seen Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story, you’ll know that Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury, who are sadly no longer with us, made cameos in the movie. The scene finds Benoit Blanc playing Among Us in the bathtub with Sondheim and Lansbury chiming in over video chat, but how did those cameos come to be?

While speaking with The New York Times, Rian Johnson and his producing partner Ram Bergman were “working every connection they had” to contact Stephen Sondheim. After mentioning this to their agent, they got an email five minutes later saying that Sondheim would do it. “Rian was in heaven, and I was in heaven because I knew how much he meant for Rian,” Bergman said. They were still trying to get in touch with Angela Lansbury, but it was Sondheim who made the introductions. “I mentioned to him that we were trying to get Angela Lansbury,” Johnson said. “And he said, ‘Oh, Angie — I’m friends with her. Tell her I’m doing it. She’ll do it.’” With both of the legends onboard, Johnson had the job of instructing the 96-year-old Lansbury how to play Among Us. The director said that Lansbury “couldn’t have been lovelier and more generous,” but that she was definitely “not a gamer.” After listening to Johnson describe the game’s rules, Lansbury just said, “You know what? Just tell me what the lines are. I’ll trust you.“

Although Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury died before the release of Glass Onion, Rian Johnson said he hopes “they would have enjoyed the little scene and gotten a laugh out of it.”

“Benoit Blanc returns to peel back the layers in a new Rian Johnson whodunit,” reads the official synopsis for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. “This fresh adventure finds the intrepid detective at a lavish private estate on a Greek island, but how and why he comes to be there is only the first of many puzzles. Blanc soon meets a distinctly disparate group of friends gathering at the invitation of billionaire Miles Bron for their yearly reunion. Among those on the guest list are Miles’ former business partner Andi Brand, current Connecticut governor Claire Debella, cutting-edge scientist Lionel Toussaint, fashion designer and former model Birdie Jay and her conscientious assistant Peg, and influencer Duke Cody and his sidekick girlfriend Whiskey. As in all the best murder mysteries, each character harbors their own secrets, lies and motivations. When someone turns up dead, everyone is a suspect.” In addition to Daniel Craig, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery features an all-star cast that includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Dave Bautista, and Kate Hudson.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is currently available on Netflix, and you can check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray right here.