Daniel Craig Forgot How to Do His Knives Out Accent for Netflix Sequel Glass Onion

Daniel Craig has been pretty busy since his last time out as Benoit Black in director Rian Johnson's Knives Out, so it's understandable that his accent might have been a bit rusty. But according to the actor, his memory of the Southern accent he uses as Blanc was so completely gone that he actually had to spend months with an accent coach before filming could begin. In a new interview with Empire magazine, which features Glass Onion on its cover in the upcoming issue, the actor revealed that he didn't want to compromise on the quality of the accent.

Craig is the only Knives Out star returning for the sequel, since the series will seemingly follow Blanc from mystery to mystery, giving a new batch of actors a chance to do a fun ensemble piece with each outing, without forcing them to be locked down for multi-picture deals. It makes sense, considering that the franchise is essentially director-driven anyway.

"I went away to work with an accent coach for three or four months before we started shooting," Craig told Empire magazine. "I'd forgotten the accent and I didn't want to do a pastiche. I wanted to make it as grounded and as anchored in reality as possible."

While Glass Onion plays as a sequel to Knives Out, only Detective Benoit Blance (Daniel Craig) is returning to the cast. The follow-up will focus on a new mystery revolving around an equally star-studded cast. Those supporting actors include Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, Madleyn Cline, Leslie Odom Jr., and Jessica Henwick. Kate Hudson and Dave Batista are also set to make special appearances.

"Blanc was always outside of the sphere of our protagonist and was a little bit more of an enigma in the first movie," Johnson added. "Whereas, in this one, Blanc gets an invitation to come to this murder mystery on this island."

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery arrives on Netflix this December 23rd. Ahead of its public release, the film's world premiere comes at TIFF next month and will close the BFI London Film Festival on October 16th. Unlike the original, this sequel is not currently scheduled for a theatrical release, and will instead drop on streaming as a Netflix exclusive. The streaming giant dropped "at least twice" what original distributor Lionsgate was willing to pay for the second and third Knives Out movies.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is expected to stream on Netflix this fall.