Rian Johnson Shares His Condition to Make More Knives Out Movies

As Rian Johnson gears up for the release of Wake Up Dead Man later this year, the director has outlined his conditions for making further installments in the Knives Out franchise. While promoting the new season of the TV show Poker Face, Johnson sat down with Collider and was asked what the future could have in store for Benoit Blanc. He stated that he would be game to make more Knives Out movies as long as Craig was onboard, but he’d want to make sure they found a compelling story to tell. Johnson isn’t interested in continuing Knives Out just for the sake of it.

“As long as Daniel [Craig] still wants to keep doing it and as long as we have an idea that, to us, feels not just like cranking another one out, but feels genuinely exciting and scary like, ‘Oh, wow, could we pull that off?’” Johnson said. “I love the genre. It’s endlessly malleable, and so it holds endless possibilities. But at the same time, I have made three of them in a row. I don’t feel burnt out on it at all, but the next thing I have in my head to write is an original that’s not a mystery at all. It’s a totally different genre. One of the things I love about the mystery genre is that it holds the whodunit. Like sci-fi, it encompasses so many other types of genres. Wake Up Dead Man, this next movie, is so different than Glass Onion. It’s like night and day. And so, as long as we keep doing that, it’s exciting.”

Released in 2019, the original Knives Out was a critical and box office hit, earning Johnson a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the Oscars. On the heels of that success, the filmmaker struck a deal with Netflix to produce two sequels. The first of those follow-ups, 2022’s Glass Onion, was similarly well-received, though it only had a limited theatrical release. Craig hopes Wake Up Dead Man will get more of an extended run on the big screen.

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Back in January, Netflix confirmed Wake Up Dead Man will release later this year. It’s slated to premiere in the fall, though the actual date has not been announced yet. Currently, Netflix’s marketing campaign for Wake Up Dead Man has consisted of still images showcasing Benoit Blanc’s new look.

Knives Out is a property that easily lends itself to several more sequels. The series follows an anthology format, with Blanc investigating a different case in each installment. As long as Craig is game, there’s no reason why Knives Out couldn’t continue past Wake Up Dead Man, but Johnson has the right approach. It remains to be seen how Wake Up Dead Man turns out, but the first two films were widely acclaimed, and it would be a shame if future installments didn’t live up to that high bar. As fun as it is to see Craig play off the star-studded supporting casts Johnson has assembled, a fourth Knives Out would only be worth doing if Johnson cracked the right story. He’s always been a filmmaker who’s thought outside the box, and it’s encouraging he wouldn’t move forward with another Knives Out unless he had a fresh idea in place.

While the Knives Out sandbox gives Johnson opportunities to play around with different genres, it sounds like he’s ready to take a break from the franchise. That’s understandable; after making three straight films centering around Benoit Blanc, he probably wants to step away for a bit and focus on other creative endeavors. The likes of Brick, Brothers Bloom, Looper, and even The Last Jedi illustrate Johnson’s penchant for putting refreshing spins on long-established tropes and concepts, so it should be fun to see the original stories he has in mind. And hopefully, the right inspiration will strike for another Benoit Blanc mystery.