'Knives Out' Sequels Land at Netflix
2:45 PM PDT 3/31/2021 by Mia Galuppo , Borys Kit
Knives Out
The first of the two films will start shooting this summer in Greece, with Daniel Craig set to reprise his role as detective Benoit Blanc.
Knives Out is heading for full-fledged franchise status.
Two sequels to the 2019 Rian Johnson-directed 'whodunit' movie have landed at Netflix in a massive nine-figure deal. The first film will start shooting this summer in Greece, with Daniel Craig set to reprise his role as detective Benoit Blanc.
Johnson will return to direct, with he and Ram Bergman producing under their T-Street banner.
Media Rights Capital produced the 2019 feature, while Lionsgate distributed. The film went on the earn a massive $311.4 million on a $40 million budget, with Johnson garnering an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. However, MRC and Lionsgate had rights only to the first film, with sequel rights lying with Johnson and Bergman, leaving the filmmakers to shop the films around.
The shopping became a duel amid streamers, with Netflix making a massive $400-plus deal, according to a source. There some other points in the deal, too. Johnson retains complete creative control with the only cast requirement being Craig. And there are no budget requirements. The potential for upside was too big for the filmmakers.
But the deals also shows the intense desire, rivals might say desperation, of Netflix to build and hold on to franchises as the streaming wars begin in earnest. Disney+, packed with Marvel and Star Wars offerings, has come out stronger out of the gate than expected, and HBO Max, with DC and big tentpole offerings, also trying to bite a piece of a limited pie. Paramount+, fueled by Star Trek and other brands, will additionally take swings at the dominant streamer.
The deal also leaves some bruised feelings as MRC believed it had a controlling stake in Knives seeing as it had financed the initial outing. Lionsgate also played a part in the success by rolling out a successful release strategy.
Knives Out starred an A-list cast including Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer and Toni Collette. In January of last year, Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter that he was developing a sequel.
