Rian Johnson Says He's "Pissed Off" That He Had to Add "A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" to His Sequel Title GLASS ONION
Director Rian Johnson’s highly anticipated sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has been released, and it is such a blast! It took the basis of the first film, a murder mystery whodunnit, and stepped it up to a new level of storytelling with an exceptionally great star-studded cast that includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista, as well as returning star Daniel Craig.
It was a great movie, and I can’t wait to see what Johnson does with the next sequel at Netflix, but the one annoyance Johnson said he had with the streaming project was the film’s title. The director explained to Variety:
“I’ve tried hard to make them self-contained. Honestly, I’m pissed off that we have ‘A Knives Out Mystery’ in the title. You know? I want it to just be called ‘Glass Onion.'”
He continued:
“I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it’s a new novel off the shelf every time. But there’s a gravity of a thousand suns toward serialized storytelling.”
I get that they were trying to tie the films together, but I think with the return of Daniel Craig’s character, detective Benoit Blanc, fans knew what the film was. If this had just been Glass Onion, it would have both stood alone and tied to Knives Out. But, oh well.
Johnson and Craig have already signed a deal to develop a third “Knives Out” movie for Netflix. Suffice to say that “A Knives Out Mystery” will probably remain in the third film’s title even though it’s not Johnson’s preference. The writer-director told Variety earlier this year that he won’t put a cap on the number of “Knives Out” films he can make as long as each entry in the franchise can remain a standalone story.
“If each one of these can really be what Agatha Christie did, if it can be not just in a totally new location and a new cast, but also trying something exciting, I’ll keep doing it as long as Daniel [Craig] and I are having a good time,” Johnson said. “I’ll keep making these as long as they let me.”
Glass Onion is now streaming on Netflix.