Rian Johnson has made a name for himself as Hollywood’s go-to guy for old-fashioned mysteries. After 2019’s Knives Out, he made two more whodunnit movies for Netflix: Glass Onion and the upcoming Wake Up Dead Man. But could the Knives Out trilogy become a quadrilogy? According to Johnson, he’s already toying with future possibilities for Benoit Blanc, but a contract wrinkle could throw a spanner in the works.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Rian Johnson said he’s busy thinking up future Benoit Blanc mysteries. “Creatively, I feel energized after making this one,” he said. “Daniel [Craig] and I are already starting to formulate … what could the next one be if we do another one?”
Rian Johnson’s Netflix deal may be ending, but he’s already thinking about the future of Knives Out.
However, making a fourth movie isn’t purely Johnson’s decision. When Netflix struck a deal with the filmmaker, it only covered two Knives Out sequels. With that deal now complete, the streamer could cut and run, leaving Johnson to find a new distributor. But if the property remains popular, no more Knives Out movies on Netflix doesn’t mean there won’t be any more movies at all.
“As long as audiences want to keep seeing it, and Daniel and I are still having fun making them and still feel like we can come up with stuff that feels not just fresh, but a fresh challenge for us, I think that’ll translate to a new experience for the audience,” Johnson said at the BFI London Film Festival this year.
Wake Up Dead Man brings a Southern Gothic flair to the whodunnit franchise.
Johnson is no stranger to shopping around existing projects. Peacock recently decided not to renew his murder mystery show, Poker Face, for a third season, prompting Johnson to pitch a revamped version of the series to other networks. Benoit Blanc might face a similar challenge, although it’s also possible that Netflix will make a new deal and keep the detective in its stable. Either way, it doesn’t look like Johnson and Craig are packing up anytime soon.
