Netflix’s acquisition of the rights of Rian Johnson’s whodunit franchise Knives Out was a big purchase. The streaming service has big plans for the second film – and production on the sequel is underway. Now, it looks like fans of the movie have an idea of when they can actually expect the sequel to drop. Variety has revealed that Knives Out 2 will be hitting theaters and Netflix in the last quarter of 2022 – in addition to giving us a few more details as well.
It seems that Netflix plans on taking Knives Out 2 on the road for a few festivals – in hopes of giving the movie more awards appeal. It has not been said exactly which festival Netflix plans on taking the movie to, however.
Johnson returns to helm Knives Out 2 as writer and director – and we can expect to see the return of Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc to boot. The all-star cast of the movie will be packed to the brim with the likes of Dave Bautista, Ethan Hawke, Janelle Monae, Jessica Henwick, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, and Madelyn Cline.
Not many details have been shared about the movie – however, we do know that the story might be taking place in a high-class vacation-like setting.
The Netflix purchase is a guaranteed exclusive rights deal to Johnson’s creation and the dollar amount was said to range from $400-$450 million – but the final price came out to $469 million instead. The original movie cost a nice $40 million to produce and it’s being reported that Johnson, Craig, and producer Ram Bergman will be walking away with “upwards of $100 million” each. That is A LOT of money – and rightfully so. Johnson is a talented writer/director that has been a serious player in Hollywood since his independent film, Brick.
Let’s not forget that Netflix has to find ways to recoup that big investment.
THR spoke with a Netflix executive on the purchase, and they had this to say:
“Yes, it’s overpaying but Netflix is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. It takes a proven theatrical commodity off the board and puts it in their pocket. And it’s another way they re-educate audiences to think of streaming and their company above a studio.”
Hopefully, Knives Out 2 and the upcoming sequels will be worth the buy.