Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, is one of 2022’s most anticipated films. The follow-up to Johnson’s 2019 whodunit is part of a unique rollout, which sees the film screening in theaters for a month before arriving on Netflix on December 23. While it’s not unusual for a Netflix-branded feature to play in cinemas, Glass Onion is the first to screen outside theaters owned by Cinemark. This detail means places like AMC and Regal can get in on the action, adding money to Netflix’s coffers and keeping those of us waiting for the Netflix release on our toes to avoid spoilers. What does any of this mean for Knives Out 3? Read on to find out.
During a lengthy discussion with Deadline about Glass Onion, producer Ram Bergman said it was “very, very important” to get the film into cinemas to qualify it for the Oscars and generate buzz before the whodunit debuts on Netflix. Bergman says the power of seeing the movie with 400 other people elevates the experience, and Glass Onion wants a piece of the action.
With Glass Onion presumed to become a significant hit, Bergman is sure theater owners will want Knives Out 3 to screen in cinemas too. “Oh yeah, we’re thinking about it,” says Bergman about Knives Out 3, “but we need this movie to come out first, then I need Rian to clear his head, take a break, and then go and start. I mean, he’s been thinking about it.”
All work and no play makes Rian Johnson a dull boy. It’s to be understood Johnson will need time to relax after the PR roller coaster for Glass Onion has come to a screeching halt. However, the future waits for no one, and Netflix will want him to get to work on the following Knives Out movie before long. The way Johnson tells it, he’s negotiated for some wiggle room, but he’s eager to get back to the Knives Out universe sooner rather than later.
“It’s interesting. We structured the [Netflix deal] so that if I wanted to do something else next, I could,” said Johnson. “And I think everybody assumed I’d have a couple other random ideas — unrelated projects — that I’ve been kicking around. But, honestly, over the past couple of months, the most exciting creative thing to me right now is that third movie. And so, I think I’m going to hop right into it. Not because of a contractual obligation, but, genuinely, that’s the shiny object I find my nose pointed toward right now. [It’s] the idea of figuring out how it can be completely different from this one as well as the first one.”
Thankfully, Johnson already has ideas for a third installment of the series, and he’s tempted to strike while the iron is hot. “I’ve got a Moleskine notebook that I carry everywhere and I’m constantly jotting stuff down in it,” he says. “The first 80 percent of the process, for me, is scribbling in notebooks and structuring it all out. I’m trying to get ahead. Even when I’m doing all the publicity for this film, I’m trying to start building up a structure, an idea, so that after New Year, when it’s time to actually get to work, I’m hopefully not just staring at that horrible blank page. But you always are, I guess.”
Anticipation for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is at an all-time high, and fans can check the movie out when it comes to theaters on November 23, 2022. Will you see the film in theaters or wait for the Netflix release? Let us know in the comments.