Spanning all the way back to writer/director Rian Johnson’s debut on the film scene with the neo-noir mystery Brick, Noah Segan has always been a partner in crime to the filmmaker’s antics. Appearing in each Johnson picture, with bit parts in The Brothers Bloom and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and full on supporting roles in Looper and, most recently, Knives Out, Segan is an integral player in the Rian Johnson repertory company. Which means that if, for some reason, Noah Segan isn’t in the planned follow-up to Knives Out, it would literally ruin Thanksgiving.
There’s a good reason why that seemingly hyperbolic statement is correct, and it came from the recent interview I conducted with Noah Segan on behalf of his recent horror film The Pale Door. Since Rian Johnson admitted that the follow-up to Knives Out that would see Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc returning for a brand new mystery, that leaves the fate of Trooper Wagner in question. So I had to ask, would Noah prefer to return as Trooper Wagner, or would he want to play a new role, even though word hasn’t been officially given that he’d be in the next Blanc film. Mr. Segan, in truly characteristic fashion, had this to say:
It would be very awkward at Thanksgiving if he decided to finally cut me loose professionally, while I made cranberry sauce for our group dinner that we traditionally have had since Brick. A lot of us from the team, Steve, his DP, and Nathan [Johnson, composer/Rian’s cousin], and the whole… everybody comes by… Joe. So it would make for a pretty awkward Thanksgiving.
Just as sure as the “Joe” he offhandedly mentioned is none other than Brick star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it seems like a pretty locked prospect that Noah Segan will somehow appear in the Knives Out successor’s cast. In fact, since he’s basically been confirmed as one of the good luck charm actors that Rian Johnson loves to keep in his films, it would be a bad omen not to bring his talents and his dedication to giving the people what they want into Benoit Blanc’s next case.
Of course, with the current events of the world making Thanksgiving a questionable prospect, that could stymie the annual festivity of rich food with the ones we love. So if Rian Johnson really wanted to cut Noah Segan loose, he’d probably have a convenient chance to do so in these interesting times. Though that seems unlikely, as Johnson has shown time and time again that he values his favorite co-conspirators, and can find them roles pretty much doing anything in his films. Though thankfully for Segan, his Knives Out role was a much safer prospect than that time he got blown up as an X-Wing pilot in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
It’s assumed that the ever-active Rian Johnson is probably hard at work writing his next project, which presumably would be the Knives Out kinda-sequel. But whatever that project is, the family and friends of the man that brought us last Thanksgiving’s whodunnit smash hit are making sure that it will be delivered in a timely fashion. Noah Segan knows this because he is one of those very people who are dedicated to the following cause:
But, I will tell you this much: as challenging as our times are right now, many of us having to stay inside more than we would like, and hunker down, it has given us an opportunity to glue a certain filmmaker’s fingers to his keyboard and ensure that he is doing his best to get us something as efficiently as possible.
Constantly greasing the wheels of productivity for his dear friend, there seems to be no stopping Noah Segan from making sure that Rian Johnson’s next film will be delivered on time, and with his presence ensured. In a year that’s done everything in its power to teach the world that plans are for fools, some natural constants still exist that prove that the world isn’t total chaos. The Johnson/Segan pairing, and by natural extension the Johnson/Segan/Levitt cluster, are one of those constants. So as long as they still gather for work and play, the world will continue to spin in some sort of normalcy.
The Pale Door is now showing in select theaters, as well as available for VOD rental and purchase; with a home video release set for October 6. Meanwhile, Knives Out is currently available to stream with a Prime Video subscription.
