With Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery in the bag, Rian Johnson and Netflix are now at an impasse. The deal struck between The Last Jedi director and teh streaming giant is now at an end with the release of the third installment of the Knives Out Franchise. However, if Johnson is to be believed, it seems that this is far from where the franchise is planning to bow out.
While the first film was a Lionsgate project, Netflix pulled in Johnson to produce the two sequels to the franchise, the first of which was Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. While there is still no concrete way forward for the franchise, Johnson himself has been toying with the idea of what Benoit Blance might be up to if there were to be another outing for the franchise.
As reported by the Hollywood Reporter, Johnson and his lead star, Daniel Craig, have had conversations about the nature of the next Knives Out film. However, there is no official work about where such a follow-up would go, or even if Netflix is looking to greenlight such a film.
Rian Johnson feels ‘energized’ after Wake Up Dead Man
Rian Johnson spoke with the Hollywood Reporter during the LA premiere of his whodunit feature, presenting a multitude of reasons why he would ove to expand the universe he has created with Knives Out. He said:
“Creatively, I feel energized after making this one. Daniel and I are already starting to formulate … what could the next one be if we do another one?”
Johnson further talked about how the films, which bring in a new cast with each installment, allow him to work with some world-class talent. This is another aspect of the project that has the Glass Onion director keen on continuing to make more films like this. The stories, too, while being murder mysteries, have fresh ideas and character arcs that Johnson gets to work with. He said:
“I don’t know why I would stop doing it if we could keep making them.”
Despite Johnson’s enthusiasm to continue the project, along with Daniel Craig’s clear support, it seems that the project has yet to receive a green light that can point towards any sort of concrete continuation of the franchise. The franchise might likely stay on at Netflix, with Johnson most likely returning to make more of them. However, it is completely likely that Johnson stays on he franchise as an executive producer, and instead lets some other directing talent try a hand at future films. Johnson has given no such indication, though, and will probably remain at the head of a slew of Knives Out projects. Johnson has indicated that work on the Knives Out films diverted his efforts from his Star Wars trilogy, which is no longer in development, but the director has said that he will be open to returning to the space opera franchise should the opportunity present itself.
Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy never received an outline
Johnson, speaking with Rolling Stone earlier this year, revealed that after being stalled since its announcement in 2017, his Star Wars trilogy has officially been shelved. He said:
“Nothing really happened with it. We had a great time working together, and they said, “Let’s keep doing it.” I said, “Great!” I would kick ideas around with Kathy. The short version is Knives Out happened. I went off and made Knives Out, and was off to the races, busy making murder mysteries. It’s the sort of thing, if, down the line, there’s an opportunity to do it, or do something else in Star Wars, I would be thrilled. But right now I’m just doing my own stuff, and pretty happy.”
A new Star Wars trilogy is in development over at Lucasfilm, which is being helmed by Simon Kinberg. Kinberg has been known for writing hits like X-Men: Days of Future Past, while also having produced the likes of X-Men: First Class, The Martian, and Deadpool. The tone that Kinber is trying to bring to his trilogy is that of The Empire Strikes Back and Andor, which he believes strikes the right tone between intimate character moments and grand, science fiction set pieces.
Spirituality might be in direct conflict with Daniel Craig in Wake Up Dead Man
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery takes Benoit Blanc and its viewers to a congregation, where the brilliant detective crosses paths with a charismatic priest and his retinue of loyal followers. Safe to say, with such a setting front and centre, and the manner in which the story is presented, spirituality is going to have a very strong presence in the third installment of the franchise. This relationship between the setting of the story and the character of Benoit Blanc is further complicated by the fact that Blanc is gay and married to his husband. Now, this might come into play when the character is at the congregation, but it remains to be seen how such aspects of his character are going to come into play with the setting and other characters that are at hand.
The structure with which Rian Johnson chooses to approach every Knives Out entry is to use the whodunnit format to deal with themes that have relevance in today’s day and age. From the march of technology in the Glass Onion, hostility towards immigrants in the first film, to religious fundamentalism in Wake Up Dead Man, Johnson might find himself looking at more ideas to explore with future Knives Out films, if only Netflix decided to quickly renew the franchise for a second trilogy.
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Rian Johnson’s engagement with themes like the weaponization of religion and the adverse effects of technology on society might be the very reason why new franchises like Knives Out have been able to generate a foothold in the modern Hollywood landscape. While his stint with Star Wars might not have been as pleasant as Disney expected, Netflix can definitely count on his product when it comes to Knives Out.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery can be streamed on Netflix starting December 12
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