Jeremy Renner Was Told He Could Only Play Himself In A Knives Out Movie Because Of His Role In Glass Onion, And He Had An A+ Reaction

These last few weeks have been exciting for Knives Out fans. The title of the threequel film, Wake Up Dead Man, was recently announced, and people are already trying to speculate what the title could mean for the Benoit Blanc story. There has also been quite a bit of casting news, with stars like Andrew Scott, Josh O’Connor, and Kerry Washington joining Knives Out 3. The cast seems to be getting bigger each day, and casting news yesterday saw Jeremy Renner added to the ensemble. This is an interesting addition too, considering he was a noteable name-drop in Glass Onion. 

Just last week Happy, Sad, Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz asked Renner about his shout-out in Glass Onion and how it came to be. For context, at the end of the murder mystery sequel, Helen (played by Janelle Monáe) fakes her own death using Jeremy Renner-branded hot sauce. The actor explained that he thought the joke was hilarious and even thought about releasing actual hot sauces to help promote the film. This never came to fruition but it was a fun idea. You can see the interview clip below: 

What makes this whole thing even better is when Horowitz says that Renner can never be in a Knives Out movie because he technically exists within the universe. The Avengers alum keeps a great poker face, assuming he knew about his casting at this point, laughing the whole thing off, and even agreeing with the interviewer. Kudos to Renner, for doing a great job navigating the subject and not spoiling any big casting news. 

With this context, however, it does make me wonder how they will balance this Glass Onion reference in the next film. 

They could just completely ignore the irony, not acknowledging the hot sauce moment in Wake Up Dead Man, leaving it as just a fun joke in Glass Onion. Renner also could also play himself, with the hot sauce lore being integral to the plot in Wake Up Dead Man. 

There is also potential in playing around with a twin plotline again, which was a big part of Glass Onion. Jeremy Renner could be playing a Renner brother, who is the actual mastermind behind the hot sauce empire. As goofy as it sounds, if anyone could make it work, it’s Rian Johnson and the Knives Out team. 

We will have to wait and see how this Jeremy Renner situation plays out, considering  Wake Up Dead Man won't be released until 2025. However, it seems like updated information about Knives Out 3 is being released every day, giving fans plenty to be excited about as we wait for another murder mystery. 

The first two films were an absolute blast, even resulting in Oscar nominations and viewership success for both. They were instant crowd-pleasers, and my fingers are crossed that Wake Up Dead Man lives up to the hype. With stars like Jeremy Renner in the mix, it's hard to go wrong. 

While you wait for Wake Up Dead Man to become available for Netflix subscribers, fans can revisit Glass Onion now, as it is currently available on the streamer. For more information on other exciting films landing on the service in the near future, make sure to consult our upcoming Netflix projects guide.