The Academy Awards are this Sunday, and competing in the Best Original Screenplay category is Knives Out, with was critically and commercially successful. We’ll have to wait and see if Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi follow-up ends up going home with one of those golden trophies, but there’s already good news awaiting fans of the whodunnit: a sequel is officially in the works.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer announced earlier today in the company’s third-quarter earnings call (via Deadline) that Knives Out 2 is moving forward, and it’s possible that production could begin sooner rather than later. Considering how Knives Out has performed since releasing in late November, along with Rian Johnson having expressed interest numerous time in making a sequel, it’s no wonder Lionsgate is keen on the project.
Knives Out ranks at 97% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s made over $294 million worldwide off a $40 million budget. In addition to the Best Original Screenplay nod, the mystery film has also won awards from groups like the American Film Institute and the Hollywood Critics Association, and it also scored three Golden Globe nominations.
It’s also worth mentioning that Knives Out was one of three movies that the studio released in its fiscal third quarter, along with Midway and Bombshell, the latter of which has also received Oscars attention. Because of how these three movies performed, Lionsgate brass says its revenue rose 30% in that quarter.
Rian Johnson first talked about the prospect of making Knives Out 2 last September, shortly after its predecessor premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. At the time, Johnson said that he had a fun time working with Daniel Craig, who played investigator Benoit Blanc. Despite not being interested in making sequels, the filmmaker was interested in bringing back Blanc for more adventures, just like what Agatha Christie did with her characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
By the beginning of last month, Rian Johnson confirmed that he was developing Knives Out 2, and weeks later, Daniel Craig said he’d be “over the moon” to return for the sequel. Now after so much talk, Knives Out 2 has gone from being a hypothetical scenario to a project that Lionsgate will be pouring its resources into.
It remains to be seen when we’ll learn plot details concerning Knives Out 2. However, judging by Rian Johnson wanting to take an Agatha Christie-like approach with Benoit Blanc’s next mystery, it sounds like the rest of Knives Out’s ensemble cast, like Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Colette and Don Johnson, will be sitting the sequel out. Though part of me hopes that there’s still a way to fit Ana de Armas’ Marta Cabrera can be involved somehow given that she and Blanc had a good rapport going.
Stick with CinemaBlend as we provide more updates on how Knives Out 2 is coming along. In the meantime, you can keep track of what’s coming out this year with our 2020 release schedule.
