In February 2020, three months after Knives Out debuted in theaters to critical acclaim, and following the movie ultimately raking in over $300 million worldwide, it was announced that Knives Out 2 was officially in development. 16 months later, the sequel has officially begun filming, and director/writer Rian Johnson commemorated the occasion with a picture depicting his beautiful surroundings.
We’ve known for months now that Knives Out 2 is shooting in Greece, and now that principal photography has begun, Rian Johnson went on Twitter to show off where he’s shooting on Day 1, with one of the production’s impressive cameras front and center.
With the first Knives Out movie having shot all around Massachusetts, Rian Johnson and the Knives Out 2 cast and crew have now set up shop in Greece, and it definitely looks like a pleasant place to be shooting a murder mystery. Johnson didn’t share where in Greece the sequel’s team currently is, but principal photography will reportedly wrap up at the end of July. Fingers crossed that the director shares more photos of Greece so we can get more tastes of that exquisite environment.
No details have been revealed yet about why Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc finds himself in Greece in Knives Out 2, but just like in 2019, he’ll end up investigating a crime requiring him to interview an ensemble lineup of colorful characters. So far the Knives Out 2 cast includes Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline and Jessica Henwick. As of now, there’s no word on who any of these actors are playing.
While we await details about Knives Out 2’s plot and characters, one big way we know how the sequel will differentiate itself from its predecessor is where it will be available. Knives Out was distributed theatrically by Lionsgate, and when Knives Out 2 was greenlit, naturally it was assumed that it would be released in the same manner. However, in March 2021, it was announced that Netflix acquired the rights to two Knives Out sequels from Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman in a deal totaling approximately $469 million, with Johnson and Daniel Craig reportedly getting big paydays.
So while it is possible Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 could get limited theatrical releases, as Netflix has done with some of its movies (such as Army of the Dead earlier this year), most people will need to be subscribed to the streaming service to watch them. In any case, at least fans of the first Knives Out movie can take comfort knowing that Benoit Blanc and his unorthodox investigation methods won’t be out of our lives anytime soon.
Knives Out 2 doesn’t have a release date yet, but while we wait for that information and more updates on the sequel’s progress, stay appraised of the movies still to come later this year with our 2021 release schedule.
