Paying almost half a billion dollars for the rights to a franchise that originated with an Academy Award-nominated box office smash hit and then opting not to give it a full-fledged theatrical run is bizarre to say the least, but Netflix stumped up the cash to do whatever it wants with Knives Out, so who are we to argue?
Second installment Glass Onion netted almost $15 million from multiplexes in the space of five days, but that still wasn’t enough to convince the streaming service that a bonanza which could have comfortably exceeded the original’s $312 million was something worth doing. Either way, subscribers got a phenomenal follow-up out of the bargain, and there’s at least one more to come.
Now that the strikes are over, writer and director Rian Johnson is free to get back into the swing of things and begin piecing together another labyrinthine mystery fronted by the inimitable Benoit Blanc, and as he revealed to The Wrap, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“It’s coming along. I obviously couldn’t work during the strike, and now that it’s over, I’m diving in full force, and so it’s coming along. I’ve got the premise, I’ve got the setting, I’ve got what the movie is in my head. It’s just a matter of writing the damn thing.”
Based on the ongoing actors’ strike and the amount of time it takes to cobble together what’s sure to be another star-studded mystery thriller, don’t be surprised if Knives Out 3 doesn’t hit Netflix until 2025. Based on the previous two, though, it’ll be well worth the wait when it does.