Rian Johnson Claims Latest Whodunit is Designed for the Theater

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery looks to have everything that made the original Knives Out a great whodunit: A star-studded cast, southern detective Benoit Blanc, and a mystery with layers upon layers to unpeel. Unfortunately, according to director Rian Johnson, the upcoming sequel may be missing a key component that made the first film so great.

Knives Out was released in theaters in 2019, bringing in $311 million on a $40 million budget. It was one of the year’s biggest hits, leading to Netflix acquiring the rights for future sequels for a hefty $450 million price tag. Now, the big screen opportunity for Glass Onion is up in the air, as the film is headed to Netflix on Dec. 23 this year. Of course, there’s the possibility of a big screen rollout ahead of the Netflix premiere, or at least in limited theaters. However, Johnson tells The Washington Post he isn’t sure about Glass Onion arriving at the movies, although that’s how he intended the film to be viewed.

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Related: Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson Don’t Want to Ever Stop Making Knives Out Movies

“This movie, above everything else, is designed to be a good time with a big crowd of folks in a theater. I want as many people to see the movie in theaters as possible. Having said that, I know a lot of people discovered ‘Knives Out’ with their families at home once it was streaming. But this movie is so designed to be seen with a crowd in a theater. It’s less like ‘Top Gun’ where it’s about the big experience of the screen and the sound, and it’s more about being surrounded by people who are going to be having as much fun as you. My goal is to hopefully have it be so if you want to see it in a theater, you can. But we’re still TBA.”

Johnson Recognizes the Changing Landscape of the Industry

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The entertainment industry’s landscape changed forever following the pandemic, as the movie theaters shut down and films went direct-to-streaming. Although the cinema is beginning to see a resurgence following the long hiatus, Rian Johnson recognizes that the way movies release may have changed forever. During his interview with The Washington Post, the filmmaker says he reminds himself if a film is good, people will find a way to watch it.

Related: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Poster Find Benoit Blanc Poolside

“As a form of self-defense, I have a serenity that if you make a good movie, you put it out there and people will find it. At the end of the day, you just have to reach a place of Zen because everything is changing so quickly.”

Luckily for Johnson, the first reviews of Glass Onion have arrived, and they praise the film, with some saying it may have surpassed the original. MovieWeb calls the film a “hilarious and thrilling sequel” and says the result is “a craftier, twistier, and more riotous sequel that exceeds expectations and will surely excite fans of the original.” Fans can hope for a nationwide release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in theaters or watch it when it arrives on Netflix on Dec. 23.

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