‘Knives Out’ Officially Gets Sequel, Lionsgate Hints At Franchise

It’s official. Rian Johnson’s mystery thriller Knives Out starring Daniel Craig is getting a sequel.

During the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed that the sequel is officially a go according to Deadline. Feltheimer also hinted that the production start is imminent. Motion Picture Group Chairman Joe Drake also hinted that there’s more for Knives Out. “Two years ago, you’d probably hear a lot of studios saying: ‘Ah the whodunit’s a dusty streaming movie,’ and yet, Rian Johnson created an absolutely brilliant movie with a brilliant character,” Drake said at the earnings call. “There is a lot of story left to tell.”

The news comes as Johnson’s modern whodunit film comes close to hitting $300 million at the worldwide box office. Featuring an all-star ensemble including Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, and Don Johnson, Knives Out turned out to be a huge success. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive. And the film has garnered a number of nominations. This includes three Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Johnson also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay at the BAFTA’s, Critics’ Choice Awards, and WGA Awards. Fans have also been clamoring for a sequel for some time now. And it seems that they’re not the only one.

Johnson has hinted in interviews at wanting to make a sequel even before the movie premiered. “I had such a good time making it, such a great time working with Daniel, and now just seeing that audiences are responding to it, the idea of continuing it on seems like it would just be a blast,” Johnson told Deadline on Oscar nomination day. “But there’s a lot that has to happen before that can happen, first and foremost being writing a script. So, we’ll see.”

Even Craig is quite willing to put on Benoit Blanc’s suit again. “Sure. I’d be over the moon. I mean, I’d do anything for Rian. If he writes something, I’ll do it. Of course, I will,” Craig said in an interview with EW. “Why wouldn’t I? I had a ton of fun doing it. You aim for that every time, you aim for that to work out. It rarely, rarely does, but it did on that movie and how nice is that?”

It is unknown whether anyone else from the first film is returning aside from Craig. However, When Johnson revealed that he’s already writing a script for the sequel, the director said it will “have all new characters and a crime to solve for Benoit Blanc.” Given the success of Knives Out though, Johnson won’t have a hard time filling out another amazing cast.