Knives Out 3: Rian Johnson has a “big cloud of ideas” for the sequel

Last Updated on January 23, 2023

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was a major hit for Netflix, currently sitting as the fourth most popular English-language film on the streaming service. As Netflix forked over big bucks for two sequels, Rian Johnson confirmed to Empire Magazine that he’s currently working on Knives Out 3 as his next project.

“I’m making the next [Benoit Blanc movie] next,” Rian Johnson told Empire, “because it’s the most exciting thing right now to me. That’s served me really well. I feel like any movie I’m making, I need to be making it because I can’t imagine doing anything else. I’m jumping into the next Benoit Blanc next because I can’t think about another story.” As for what type of mystery Benoit Blanc will be solving in Knives Out 3, Johnson isn’t sure, but said, “I’ve got a big cloud of ideas, but it hasn’t all snapped into focus yet. It’s exciting, though, and it’s very, very different from this one. That’s what I’m excited about.“

When breaking the story, Rian Johnson said that he doesn’t start with the crime. “I start with the structure of the story, and what the audience’s journey is actually going to be through the story,” Johnson explained. “Which has to do with the crime, but more than that, it has to do with who we care about and why… That’s great, as opposed to, ‘Let’s come up with a great murder’, where you’ll drive yourself insane trying to do it.” Although Johnson’s contract with Netflix only covers two Knives Out sequels, he teased last November that he’d be down to do more as long as Daniel Craig and himself are still having fun. “As long as the two of us are still having fun, and as long as we can continue to make these truly new experiences each time, and find new ways to challenge ourselves,” Johnson said. “The second we feel like we’re repeating ourselves, or just turning a crank on a machine, we’ll stop. Because to me, the whole conception of this whole series is the same way Agatha Christie did it with her books – we’re doing something new and surprising every time.“

It remains to be seen what Knives Out 3 will bring us, but it’s probably safe to say that it won’t involve The Muppets… unfortunately.