Knives Out was a surprise hit in 2019. It took over cinemas with its fresh take on the mystery genre and proved to be a big success for filmmaker Rian Johnson. Now, the writer/director is looking towards a bright future with this universe as he’ll team with Netflix in an impressive partnership.
Deadline reports that Netflix will develop and house two sequels to the whodunit film and sources close to the situation note that the deal will be worth more than $400 million. If true, this will mark one biggest movie deals in streaming history. For reference, the first film cost $40 million to produce and brought in a global gross of more than $311 million.
Johnson has already written the sequels and will produce with filmmaking partner Ram Bergman. Reports say they’ll begin shooting Knives Out 2 on June 28th in Greece, and casting is already underway.
The only confirmed cast member at the time of writing is Daniel Craig, who will return as Benoit Blanc, the strange sleuth that soon became a fan favorite. No word if any other Knives Out co-stars will return for either sequel, but Johnson has previously said that the sequel would feature a “whole new cast, location and mystery.”
Final reports say that Netflix will spend around $450 million for these films owned and licensed by Johnson and Bergman on a picture-by-picture basis.
