On the surface, Rian Johnson’s whodunnit Knives Out hardly came packing much in the way of franchise potential, even if it was a major hit, both at the box office and with fans.
A $311 million haul on a $40 million budget, a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score and an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay was an impressive return, but multi-film murder mystery franchises are rare for a reason. It’s hard to pull off the same trick twice without devolving into formula, although Netflix paying top dollar for two follow ups would get anybody’s creative juices flowing.
In a deal worth upwards of $400 million, the streamer is getting a pair of Knives Out sequels, which look to refit the property as an anthology of sorts, with Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc the only returning character. Speaking to Variety, the retired James Bond offered a status update on his next sleuthing adventure.
“We did the second one in the summer. We shot in Greece and then we filmed studio work in Serbia. It’s finished, it’s in the can, Rian’s editing now and it’ll be out Autumn of this year. It’s done, amazing really.”
The cast is just as stacked second time around, with Craig being joined by Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Outer Banks breakout Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, Jessica Henwick, and Ethan Hawke. Debuting on Netflix later this year eases the commercial pressure on Knives Out 2, but it’s still coming burdened with high expectations given the acclaim that greeted the opener.
