Glass Onion is the second adventure of Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). The action in the sequel took Blanc to Greece as a guest of billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) and his eclectic group of wealthy friends, where Bron hoped to conduct a murder mystery game. Since Glass Onion is a murder mystery itself, not everything goes to plan, and Blanc has to solve the true mystery at the heart of the film.
Glass Onion continues director Rian Johnson's reinvention of the mystery genre - Johnson continues to skewer the wealthy and provide plenty of social commentary while providing audiences with a healthy dose of camp. His series has become a veritable hit, and fans are already awaiting the next film in the saga. Though Blanc connects each case, both of the films in the franchise are largely self-contained, and mostly make do with a new cast of characters.
The series has cast some notable names, including Kathryn Hahn, Hugh Grant, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many, many more talented thespians. Quite a few of the cast members have a history in comedic or dramatic fare, and their performances lend themselves well to the biting, satirical edge the franchise is known for. Fans have been trying to guess who could be cast in the ensemble piece as soon as the second film was announced, with guesses ranging from well-known actors to the Muppets. There are many more actors out there who would fit well in the universe.
Gwendoline Christie
Christie had a solid 2022, and her performance in Wednesday was one of the best in the series. Not only did she play a serious, domineering presence well, she did so with charisma Christie's performance made Principal Weems a fully realized character, when she easily could have been one-note.
It's the kind of performance that would work well in a Knives Out film. Christie could easily put in a performance as some kind of wealthy, clueless heiress and hit it out of the park. Sure, the suspects aren't necessarily meant to be likable, but that doesn't mean their performances can't be iconic. Christie has shown she can play the straight man well - Brienne was frequently no-nonsense in Game of Thrones. Nearly every suspect has some element of the straight man role; they may be funny, but the humor is often drawn from their obliviousness and complete detachment from the world. Christie is a sharp enough actress to understand that assignment, and do it well.
Lena Headey
Another Game of Thrones alum: Headey's turn as Cersei shows she can do glamorous, she can do manipulative, she can do scheming. Headey can do villainous, and she has a magnetic quality about her that would make her character one that fans would love-to-hate. Or perhaps just flat-out love. Despite all of Cersei's deviousness, she's got quite a few fans who love to see her succeed - and that kind of energy could make her a fun foil for Benoit Blanc.
Headey's also got an excellent track record when it comes to making hard-edged characters feel sympathetic. In The Sarah Connor Chronicles, she took on the titular role once made famous by Linda Hamilton, and she portrayed her with a hard sensibility that many would struggle to sympathize with. But Headey's performance made fans connect with the character and understand her on a deeper level. Perhaps Headey could be the prime suspect in a Benoit Blanc adventure, only to serve as a subversion who becomes more sympathetic later on.
Lizzy Caplan
Caplan has a background in both comedy and drama. She's probably best known for her role in Mean Girls, but she's been in so many projects and has shown she's got quite the range. She may have played a rebellious Janis Ian in Mean Girls, but she's also been a proper researcher in Masters of Sex and will soon be playing the villainous Alex Forrest in the upcoming Fatal Attraction tv show.
Caplan is simply a likable actress. That makes her perfect for one of Benoit Blanc's companions on a case. Ana de Armas played Marta with a wide-eyed naivety in Knives Out, while Janelle Monàe portrayed Helen with an endearing cleverness and tenacity. Both women were severely wronged in the course of their films, and Blanc helped them achieve justice. Caplan could bring a similar energy to a hypothetical future role in a Knives Out sequel.
Justice Smith
Smith is an up-and-coming actor. Perhaps currently best known for Detective Pikachu, Smith also has a likable aura about him. Though he does not have many credits to his name, he always delivers a solid performance, and he has played the lead role in films before with a boy-next-door energy.
Smith's casting could also be a way to bring in more LGBT representation. He is openly LGBT himself, and while that does not necessarily mean that his character has to be in the LGBT community themselves, it could be a fun way to incorporate Benoit Blanc's sexuality into the films on a bigger scale. Smith could play a companion for Blanc, and could be a young, gay man who Blanc provides guidance to.
Angela Bassett
Bassett is fresh off an amazing performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but she is known for more than one film: her lengthy and illustrious filmography stretches back to the late '80s. Bassett brings a regal presence to her performances, and her turn as Queen Ramonda is a great reminder of that. Her glamour would be very fitting for a Knives Out film.
Bassett has range. She could theoretically play any type of role in the franchise, and she'd probably excel at it. She could be someone that the audience is sympathetic to, but she could also easily play a suspect. She could even be both - a misdirect for the audience. A Knives Out role would be an easy homerun for her.
Aubrey Plaza
Plaza had a great performance in The White Lotus: Sicily. Though she is often criticized for similar performances (a criticism Plaza has revealed she's tired of), Plaza has a vibe that would translate well into a Knives Out screenplay.
Obviously, she's often marketed as a master of deadpan comedy - a straight woman - but she also brings a subtle depth to her roles. Her performance in a Knives Out film would be perfect for the satirical brush the suspects are frequently painted under. She's almost a no-brainer to include in the franchise; she'd be just the right amount of acerbic without going overboard.
Jennifer Coolidge
Coolidge is another White Lotus alum. Not only does The White Lotus share much of the same fanbase as Knives Out, Coolidge has been having something of a moment recently (Coolidge also appeared in Ryan Murphy's The Watcher back in October) and her fanbase is energized.
Coolidge has made a career out of her unique comedic chops. She's perfectly aware of what she brings to a role - lovable, but goofy. Usually fairly sexual, yet ditzy. She frequently plays a richer woman, and she can channel her energy into either a more positive or negative depiction of the character. Here, she'd probably portray a more negative character, as the suspects usually are, but she would instantly become a fan favorite, as she usually does.
Jack Quaid
Quaid is currently starring on The Boys, and he plays more of an Everyman character there. Quaid is also a lovable goof on Star Trek: Lower Decks, but he doesn't just bring a boyish charm to the roles he plays. Quaid has also gone darker before, and has even twisted that boyish charm into something more immature and nefarious.
His role in Scream was a perfect example of what he can do. In preparation for the role, he even got into character by going into chatrooms online and acting as a misogynistic troll; he would easily understand a role of a similar nature in a Knives Out film. Quaid could portray a rich, young man with some questionable political leanings, and Johnson could use the character in order to satirize that facet of modern-day society.
Jenna Ortega
Ortega's star is quickly rising, and it would be remiss to not include her in this list. She's currently starring on Wednesday, where Ortega choreographed a dance herself that went viral. Her acting chops are on full display there: fans fell in love with her straight-faced portrayal of Wednesday Addams very quickly.
She's also played some very different roles before, however. In Scream, her rendition of a Final Girl - Tara Carpenter - became a fan favorite as soon as the movie dropped; in fact, some argue that she should take over from Sam (Melissa Barrera), her sister, as the new protagonist. In You, she played an innocent young girl who found herself caught up in Joe Goldberg's (Penn Badgely) machinations. She would make an excellent companion to Blanc, but it's also possible that her attraction to darker roles would push her into the role of a suspect. Either way, the audience almost certainly won't rue Ortega's presence.
Knives Out 3 is currently being written by Johnson, and nothing appears to be solid just yet. With Glass Onion having done so well both in theaters and on Netflix, it's almost a certainty that the sequel's announcement will come sooner rather than later. The cast announcements will probably come shortly after that. There are clearly many avenues that Johnson could explore before settling down on a final decision.
Glass Onion is currently on Netflix.