‘Knives Out' creator hints at 4th movie

Rian Johnson is already teasing what could come next for the Knives Out universe, even as the third film in the series has just made its debut.

Wake Up Dead Man, the latest mystery starring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, arrived on Netflix on Dec. 12, and while fans are still digesting that story, Johnson is looking ahead, cautiously.

In a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker confirmed that early thoughts about a fourth Knives Out movie are beginning to form, though nothing is close to being locked in. 

“I have some basic, elemental, conceptual ideas. Like, ‘Okay, it’d be interesting if it were this kind of thing’ kernels,” Johnson shared. At the same time, he emphasized how early the process really is. 

“I don’t have actual concrete ideas. I don’t have a theme yet. I don’t have a location. It’s really pretty vague, and I feel like it’s good to kinda keep it vague until I’m ready to actually sit down and write it.”

For now, Johnson isn’t rushing back into the world of Benoit Blanc. He explained that he hopes to direct at least one original film before returning to the franchise, noting that each Knives Out movie is meant to reflect the time in which it’s made. 

That approach, he said, requires patience rather than speed. 

“Part of making these movies, for me, is reacting to the present moment, not necessarily with current events or politics or culture specifically, but in terms of what we’re all feeling in the world at that moment,” Johnson said.

He added that the films are intentionally not timeless. 

“I like that these movies are not timeless, per se, and that they all have one foot in something that is common to all of us in our present moment,” he explained, reiterating that keeping ideas loose helps preserve that creative instinct.

The Knives Out franchise began in 2019 with the theatrical release of the original film.

Netflix later acquired the rights to two sequels, releasing Glass Onion in 2022. 

Wake Up Dead Man premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and also had a limited theatrical run starting Nov. 26.

While a fourth installment isn’t officially in development, Johnson’s comments make one thing clear, the door to another Benoit Blanc mystery is very much open, just not yet fully unlocked.