Daniel Craig said goodbye to James Bond in 2021, but the actor has another franchise in his back pocket, as he is slated to return in Benoit Blanc in the sequel to 2019’s Knives Out.
The mystery story from writer/director Rian Johnson was a smash hit when it was released and the first clue as to what the sequel is going to be has arrived with the official title.
Rian Johnson tweeted on Monday, June 13, about his love for Agatha Christie and how the Poirot author was able to keep her writing fresh by changing up the settings, tone and genre stylings of each story.
Johnson has said that his Knives Out franchise is inspired by Christie, so it should come as little surprise then that the title for the much-anticipated sequel isn’t simply Knives Out, but something completely different — Glass Onion (though it does feature the subtitle, "A Knives Out Mystery."
Benoit Blanc’s next case, the follow up to Knives Out, is called GLASS ONION. pic.twitter.com/6Zo0g1VX11June 13, 2022
The graphic announcement video that reveals the title also lists the principal cast for the movie, which including Craig features the previously announced star-studded lineup of Edward Norton (Fight Club), Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Leslie Odom Jr. (a veteran of a Christie story after starring in Murder on the Orient Express), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy).
A release date for Glass Onion is also teased, saying "Benoit Blanc is back this holiday season." That gives fans a likely window between Thanksgiving and Christmas for the movie to premiere on Netflix. For reference, Knives Out debuted on November 27 in 2019.
The original Knives Out introduced Craig as the brilliant private investigator Benoit Blanc, hired to solve the death of murder-mystery novelist Harlan Thromby, with all of his eccentric family members potential suspects.
Though the supporting cast was just as star-studded as Glass Onion — Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plumber, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford and more — only Craig’s Blanc is going to be back for the sequel.
As for what the title could mean, internet sleuths are already probably on the case. "Glass Onion" is the name of a Beatles song from the White Album. According to the website BeatlesBible.com, John Lennon liked the phrase because he thought it conveyed the idea of transparency and multiple layers. How that will apply to Rian Johnson’s movie remains to be seen.
It’s also interesting that Johnson is taking so much inspiration from Agatha Christie for his own series of murder-mystery stories as some of the author’s most popular work has had its own come back on the big screen. Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were recently adapted by Kenneth Branagh, with the Oscar-winner taking on the role of Hercule Poirot; a third Poirot movie from Branagh is reportedly on the way. However, Knives Out outpaced both Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile at the box office and with critics.
While fans eagerly await for Glass Onion, a Knives Out Mystery to be released, Knives Out is currently available to rent online.
