After delivering the polarizing Star Wars: The Last Jedi to the public, filmmaker Rian Johnson turned his attention to a mystery tale that he’d first thought up over a decade before: Knives Out. The whodunit flick, which saw Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc investigating a prosperous, yet dysfunctional family about the death of its patriarch, hit theaters in November 2019 and was a critical and commercial hit. So, unsurprisingly, Knives Out 2 was officially greenlit just a few months later, and now we’re learning who will make up the cast of the sequel that Johnson returned to write and direct.
Before going further, it should be noted that if you were expecting Knives Out 2, which now has the official title of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, to involve the Thrombey family again, toss those hopes aside. Benoit Blanc will investigate a new mystery featuring an assortment of new colorful characters in the 2022 Netflix movie schedule addition. So let’s go over who’s participating in this latest caper, starting with the man who anchors what’s now a film series.
Daniel Craig
While most people know Daniel Craig for his outings as James Bond and from dramas like Defiance and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Daniel Craig also has plenty of experience with more lighthearted fare, such as Logan Lucky and hosting Saturday Night Live twice. Knives Out definitely fell into the latter category, with Craig adopting a ridiculous Southern accent to bring Benoit Blanc to life. But, silly voice aside, Blanc proved himself a skilled detective as he peeled back the layers of Harlan Thrombey’s sudden demise. It hasn’t been revealed yet what kind of mystery he’ll be solving in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but, naturally, we can count on Blanc eventually uncovering the truth of what’s happening this time around.
Dave Bautista
There’s no question that Dave Bautista's acting career skyrocketed after debuting as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the WWE star has scored plenty of other notable projects beyond his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Spectre (which marked the first time he worked with Daniel Craig) and Blade Runner 2049 to more recent offerings like Army of the Dead and Dune, Bautista has firmly cemented himself as a movie star. He’s now lined up to take part in Knives Out 2, though no details about his character have been revealed yet.
Edward Norton
Like Dave Bautista, Edward Norton is an MCU alum, having played Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk. In recent years though, Norton has starred in movies like Birdman, Alita: Battle Angel, Motherless Brooklyn (which he also directed, wrote and produced) and the recent The French Dispatch, another collaboration with director Wes Anderson. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be Norton’s first time sharing the screen with Daniel Craig, so I’m interested to see what kind of dynamic these two will have.
Janelle Monáe
While she’s primarily known as an accomplished singer and songwriter, Janelle Monáe also has some acting experience under her belt, including movies like Hidden Figures and Antebellum, and TV shows like Phillip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams and Homecoming. As far as her role in Knives Out 2 is concerned, sources who spoke with THR’s Borys Kit say Monáe could be playing someone similar to Ana de Armas or LaKeith Stanfield’s characters from the first Knives Out. That’s a lot of room to work with, considering how drastically different those two roles were, so I’m curious to see how Monáe ends up fitting into the Knives Out 2 picture.
Kathryn Hahn
Kathryn Hahn’s been acting professionally for over 20 years, but the last several have seen her soar to new heights of fame. Whether it’s starring in the Bad Moms movies with Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, causing trouble as Agatha Harkness in Disney+’s WandaVision or delving into dramatic territory with Mark Ruffalo in HBO’s I Know This Much Is True, Hahn has shown time and time again how much range she has. As for how she fits into Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, that remains to be seen, though she did say that filming the movie reminded her of college, so at least she had fun making it.
Leslie Odom Jr.
In the wake of his breakout performance as Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. has had no shortage of work opportunities, delivering excellent turns in movies like Harriet and One Night In Miami... He has a long list of developing projects, and one of them has been confirmed to be Knives Out 2. He is a star whose range dictates that he could play either a good guy or a villain in any story, so it will definitely be interesting to see the way in which Rian Johnson utilizes him in the mysterious mystery plot.
Kate Hudson
Following a four-year break from film work, Kate Hudson returned to the theatrical realm in early 2021 with the Sia-directed Music. Luckily for fans, Hudson's other upcoming movies, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon and Shriver, were in post-production by the time Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery had to shoot, and it was the next movie she had lined up. It’s hard to say how she fits into the mystery that Benoit Blanc is solving, but it’s easy enough to imagine her being directly involved with the crime that was committed, based on first impressions from what we've seen of the suspicious cast of characters so far.
Madelyn Cline
If the name Madelyn Cline rings a bell, you’re most likely familiar with her as Sarah Cameron in the Outer Banks cast. Or maybe you caught one of her recurring gigs on shows like Vice Principals, The Originals or Stranger Things. In any case, now Cline’s keeping her relationship with Netflix going by getting in on the Knives Out 2 fun, though we’ll have to wait and see why she's in Benoit Blanc’s orbit.
Jessica Henwick
Most of you likely know Jessica Henwick best as Colleen Wing in Iron Fist, The Defenders, and Luke Cage, but following the collapse of Marvel’s Netflix universe, she’s been collecting some impressive film credits. In late 2021, we saw Henwick opposite Keanu Reeves (which led to some fan-girl moments) in The Matrix Resurrections, and we recently saw her star alongside Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling in The Gray Man. Now, Henwick is sticking around Netflix for Knives Out 2, so we can play the waiting game on learning details about her character.
Unlike the first Knives Out, which was theatrically released by Lionsgate, both Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 are going to Netflix, so you'll be able to watch both with your Netflix subscription. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend to learn who else will appear in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, as well as any other significant news about the sequel.
