Although Rian Johnson really only became a household names thanks to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, he's been working with great actors for years. Between Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and Looper - his first three films - his record of collaborations include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Ruffalo, Adrian Brody, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt. and Jeff Daniels. Now he's putting together the cast for his next feature, Knives Out, and he's made three stellar selections so far.
We only heard first heard about Knives Out at the start of last month, minimal details revealing that it will be a classic whodunit murder mystery, but in the last few weeks we've learned about some incredible talent coming aboard. And without further ado, let's start with the latest, shall we?
Jamie Lee Curtis is the lead in one of the biggest hits of Fall 2018, reprising her role as Laurie Strode in David Gordon Green's Halloween, and now she is set to follow that part up by collaborating with Rian Johnson. Variety reports that she has joined the cast of Knives Out, though details about her character are being kept quiet.
Those who have seen Halloween can attest to the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis can still very much bring it on screen, as she gives a powerhouse performance. It's not super surprising given that she has called Laurie Strode her favorite role, but we still expect to see a big win streak grow with Knives Out.
While there are some impressive veterans populating this ensemble, the movie has also hired one of the most exciting up-and-comers out there, with Lakeith Stanfield signed on to Knives Out to play a detective. Sadly, not much more is known about the part, but we can certainly hope it will be worthy of his talents.
Stanfield only made his feature debut five years ago, but already he has proven to mass audiences that he is a remarkably gifted actor. Everything started with a brilliant turn opposite Brie Larson in the shattering drama Short Term 12, but since then we've witnessed further greatness in movies like Get Out and Sorry To Bother You, not to mention the genius FX series Atlanta.
Also set to play a key role in the ensemble is Michael Shannon, who was also just revealed as part of the cast today thanks to Variety. This is exciting news partially just because Shannon is an immensely talented performer, but also because it seems like such a great fit genre-wise. There are few around who can radiate intensity like him, and that should be perfect for a tense Agatha Christie-style story.
Part of being a talented character actor is working with the best-of-the-best filmmakers, and it's exciting that Rian Johnson and Shannon are now working together. I'm not quite sure if I want to see him play something totally on-brand for him, or something completely new and different.
Set to join Lakeith Stanfield as a detective in Knives Out is Daniel Craig, who was the first actor to come aboard the project. Given that the movie is getting ready to start shooting later this year, it's unclear how it will coordinate with the production schedule for Bond 25 - but given the setup and presumed scale of this project, it probably won't be filming for very long.
It's worth mentioning that Craig has a bit of experience in the murder mystery genre, having previously starred in David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. We can't say at this point how much further similarities will go from there, but hopefully one area in which they will match is quality level.
Then we have Chris Evans, who is attached to Knives Out in a mystery role. Given the information we have, we can probably rule him out as another detective, but that's really as far as details go.
Given Evans' recent posts on social media, it might wind up being that Knives Out will be his first film to come following the end of his run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - which lasted for a full eight years. Of course, given the size of the actor's fanbase, and the awesome talent demonstrated during his time as Captain America and in other roles, this certainly will only be the first of many great post-Marvel titles to come.
Next, there's Christopher Plummer, who, per THR, is in negotiations to join the Knives Out cast. Chances are most of you reading this are already well familiar with Plummer, be it from his performance as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Rudyard Kipling in The Man Who Would Be King or any other number of roles. However, unquestionably Plummer's biggest recent project has been All the Money in the World, where he played J. Paul Getty. Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey, shot all of his scenes just weeks before the movie hit theaters and later earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Needless to say an actor of Christopher Plummer's caliber will be most welcome on Knives Out, although like most of the cast, it remains to be seen who he's playing.
The last two years have been eventful for Katherine Langford, between playing Hannah Baker in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and starring in Love, Simon. The future was already looking bright for the actress, as she's set for a mystery role in Avengers 4 and will lead the new Netflix series Cursed, but now she can also look forward to appearing in Knives Out, as revealed by THR.
Like everyone else aside from Daniel Craig, there's no word yet on who Katherine Langford is playing in Knives Out, but this movie will no doubt help with increasing her star power.
With production gearing up before the end of 2018, it's very likely that we will get to see Knives Out in its finished form at some point in 2019. Right now the film definitely has our attention, and we'll be sure to keep delivering new details about the project here on CinemaBlend as they become available.
