Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery director Rian Johnson revealed he wants to avoid getting complacent as a creator as he continues to make more films in the Knives Out franchise.
In a new interview with Deadline, Johnson and star Daniel Craig discussed the dangers of settling into a routine and how that could affect a film. Johnson expressed that though he's grown more confident on set, he's more conscious than ever about the kind of films he makes, especially with future Knives Out films. "Daniel and I have talked a lot about that, how the instant we feel like we’re turning the crank on another one of these, we have to stop. So, it’s very important with each one now, and the third one especially, that it feels kind of scary and dangerous. You have to shake the box."
Craig shared a similar sentiment about "churning" out films for the sake of them and believes that both he and Johnson would step away from making more films in the franchise if they felt that the films were not good enough. "Unless people are getting genuine fun out of them, forget it."
Planning Knives Out 3
Discussing Johnson’s inspiration for future films in the series, Craig stated, "Rian seems to me to be very excited about getting on with the next one. He’s already got some ideas, and they sound to me to be really interesting, so I’m going to let him just get on with that." Though a third film hasn't yet been officially confirmed, Johnson said that he was eager to start working on Knives Out 3.
The director also discussed the challenges of working on a whodunnit film. Given that it’s not a very expansive genre, Johnson feels that there’s not a lot of films that he can refer to for inspiration. "There's been plenty of different Agatha Christie adaptations over the years, and those are always fun to dig into. But in terms of actual innovative stuff in the genre, you do find yourself coming back to the same titles," Johnson continued.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Knives Out, had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2022. It has also begun a one-week limited theatrical release from Nov. 23 after which it will be available to stream on Netflix starting on Dec. 23.
Source: Deadline