Netflix has landed a $450 million deal to make two sequels to Rian Johnson's murder-mystery Knives Out. The Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Looper director will write and direct both. Daniel Craig is also on board, reprising his role as the detective Benoit Blanc.
Knives Out, a modern take on the locked-room mystery, came out in November 2019. Thanks to its all-star cast and fun, twisty story, it quickly became a surprise box office hit. Lionsgate announced a sequel in February 2020, by which time the film had made more than $300 million. Johnson confirmed that Craig would be returning, but none of the other cast members from the original would appear.
Despite it being one of the biggest streaming deals ever, Netflix has kept their Knives Out purchase secret until now. Apple and Amazon were also in the running to buy the rights, but Netflix outbid both of them. As part of the enormous deal, Johnson and longtime partner Ram Bergman will produce the new films. Though MRC Entertainment owns the first Knives Out film, Johnson and Bergman wisely held on to the sequel rights.
Johnson has already written both sequels, and the first will begin shooting in Greece on June 28. Casting is ongoing, leaving Craig the only confirmed appearance so far. The first film, however, managed to secure an amazing ensemble with a budget of just $40 million. Given that, we'll likely see some big-name actors attached to the project in the coming months.
With this newest development, it's clear Johnson is busier than ever. His planned Star Wars trilogy is looking unlikely, but now he has a completely different trilogy to work with. And apart from Knives Out, he's also creating a mystery series for Peacock called Poker Face. Craig, meanwhile, is taking on a new role (that of Benoit Blanc) following his retirement from the James Bond character.
A media executive told Variety that they could see Craig getting large pay raises across each Knives Out film. However, even with Netflix's massive content budget, $450 million is still a lot for just two movies. Netflix's biggest film, the upcoming Russo Brothers thriller The Gray Man, cost them "only" $200 million to produce. Variety's source thinks Netflix is spending millions on marketing, to make Knives Out one of their many known IPs. With that in mind, it's also very possible that the streaming service is already planning for a Knives Out 4.
Netflix will release two Knives Out sequels on an unspecified future date. It is currently unknown if the two films will have a theatrical release as well.