Knives Out (film series)

Knives Out
Official film series logo
Directed by	Rian Johnson
Written by	Rian Johnson
Produced by	Rian Johnson Ram Bergman Katie McNeill (3)
Starring	Daniel Craig Various actors (See below)
Cinematography	Steve Yedlin
Edited by	Bob Ducsay
Music by	Nathan Johnson
Production companies	T-Street Productions MRC (1)
Distributed by	Lionsgate Films (1) Netflix (2–3)
Release date	2019-present
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$120,000,000 (3 films) [1]
Box office	$327,952,178 (2 films)[2][3]

Knives Out is a series of American murder mystery films written, directed, and co-produced by Rian Johnson. The films star Daniel Craig as private detective/investigator Benoit Blanc, involved with investigating mysteries. Other prominent cast members who appear in supporting roles for the films within the series include Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista among others.

The film series commenced in 2019, where the first installment was met with critical acclaim, particularly for its screenplay, direction, and acting, from both audience and film critics and grossed $311.4 million worldwide against a $40 million budget. After the first film's success, Netflix bought the exclusive rights to two Knives Out sequels for over $400 million. The second film was similarly released to positive reception critically,^[4] though its limited theatrical release in foreign markets lead to a lower monetary performance.^[3]

A third film began production in June 2024,^[5] and is scheduled for release in 2025.^[6]

In developing the film, Johnson cited several classic mystery thrillers and mystery comedies as influences, including The Last of Sheila, Murder on the Orient Express, Something's Afoot, Murder by Death, Death on the Nile, The Private Eyes, The Mirror Crack'd, Evil Under the Sun, Deathtrap, Clue, and Gosford Park.^[7] The 1972 version of Sleuth, a favorite "whodunit adjacent" of Johnson's, was also an inspiration, particularly for the setting and set design, including the automaton, Jolly Jack the Sailor.^[8][9][10] The title was taken from the 2001 Radiohead song "Knives Out"; Johnson, a Radiohead fan, said: "Obviously, the movie has nothing to do with the song ... That turn of phrase has always stuck in my head. And it just seemed like a great title for a murder mystery."^[11] The name Harlan Thrombey is taken from a 1981 Choose Your Own Adventure whodunit, Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey?^[12]

The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 27 by Lionsgate Films. The film received critical acclaim, particularly for its screenplay, direction, and acting. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, it received three nominations in the Musical or Comedy category, while also receiving Best Original Screenplay nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards and 92nd Academy Awards. It was selected by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2019.

Before the release of Knives Out, Johnson said he would like to create sequels with Benoit Blanc investigating further mysteries, and that he already had an idea for a sequel.^[13][14] In January 2020, Johnson confirmed that he was writing a sequel, intended to focus on Blanc investigating a new mystery. Craig was expected to reprise his role, and acknowledged interest in the project.^[15] By February 2020, Lionsgate announced that a sequel had been officially green-lit for production.^[16]

In March 2021, Netflix bought the rights to two Knives Out sequels for $450 million and that filming would begin in June 2021, in Greece. Despite Lionsgate's prior announcement that they had approved a sequel, reports indicate that Johnson and Bergman retained the sequel rights, which they shopped to other distributors without the involvement of Lionsgate or MRC.^[17][18] In April 2021, Curtis confirmed that the Thrombey family from the first film would not be returning for the sequel, while elaborating on what each family member has been up to since the end of the first installment.^[19] The cast was rounded out in May and June 2021, with Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline and Jessica Henwick added in undisclosed roles.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]}

Principal photography officially commenced on June 28, 2021 in Greece and concluded that September.^[27] In June 2022, the official title was revealed to be Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The film was released on December 23, 2022, with Netflix considering a 45-day theatrical exclusive debut prior to its streaming release.^[28][29]

In March 2021, it was reported that Netflix had agreed to pay $450 million for the rights to two sequels to be written and directed by Johnson, with Craig reprising his role as detective Benoit Blanc.^[17][18] In June 2022, Johnson revealed that "Knives Out 3" was a working title with his intent being that each film has a distinct title, citing the works of Agatha Christie as his inspiration for the films and the individual titles.^[28]

By January 2023, Johnson confirmed that he had started writing the script for the third film, stating that it will be tonally and thematically different from the previous installments.^[30] The filmmaker later stated that though he had approved the subtitle of A Knives Out Mystery for the previous installment, he would like to rename the series and add A Benoit Blanc Mystery as subtitles to future installments.^[31]

In October 2023, following the adherence to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and the resolution thereof, Johnson announced that he had started working on the script for the third film. The filmmaker stated that he has the premise planned, and could begin writing again.^[32] In May 2024, the film's official title was announced as Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery with the release of an official teaser trailer narrated by Daniel Craig in character as Benoit Blanc.^[6] Principal photography was initially scheduled to commence in fall 2024, in London;^[33][34][35] though in June of the same year, Johnson announced that filming had commenced.^[5][36] The film is slated for release at an unspecified date in 2025.^[6]

In September 2022, Craig and Johnson both separately stated that they will continue making additional films in the series, so long as they are both involved together.^[37] In January 2023, Johnson stated that a suggestion from fans to create a Benoit Blanc mystery film with The Muppets as the supporting cast had inspired him. The writer/director said that he seriously considered this an option, but should he create such a project he would want it to contribute to both IPs without taking away from their significance.^[38] That same month, the filmmaker acknowledged the realization for a possible Knives Out Christmas special.^[39]