Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery director Rian Johnson explains why he regrets the film's title. The Netflix film stars Daniel Craig reprising his role as the detective Benoit Blanc as he enters another twisted and fascinating murder mystery scenario. While Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery only brings Blanc back, its themes of corruptive wealth, morality, privilege, and greed perfectly echo Johnson's previous murder mystery movie, 2019's Knives Out. As such, the film is a direct sequel to Knives Out for those reasons and because of the title, which references its predecessor.
The words "Glass Onion" in the title, a reference to the 1968 Beatles song of that name, are spoken in the film itself. While speaking with The Atlantic, Johnson states that he regrets the second half of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery's title because he would rather have let the film stand on its own than be relegated as just a sequel. The director does confirm that Glass Onion is the "next in the series," but explains that he takes issue with the weight given to "serialized storytelling" since he prefers to think of the films as "self-contained" works, comparing them to novels in a series. See Johnson's full quote, as well as Screen Rant's video breakdown of 20 easy-to-miss details from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, below:
“I’ve tried hard to make them self-contained. Honestly, I’m pissed off that we have A Knives Out Mystery in the title. I want it to just be called Glass Onion. I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it’s a new novel off the shelf every time. But there’s a gravity of a thousand suns toward serialized storytelling.”
Glass Onion Is Self-Contained
Despite the title, which indicates that Glass Onion is indeed a followup of Knives Out, Glass Onion does stand on its own legs as a self-contained movie, showing that Johnson's intentions came through. The connections to the first film do inform Blanc's character and color the viewers' perceptions of him, but they are not necessary for audiences to enjoy the follow-up film as it is. With a completely new premise, unique setting, and updated cast of hilarious and satirical characters, Glass Onion follows up on the themes of Knives Out, listed above, while building a new story.
Johnson has previously cited Agatha Christie as a major inspiration for Knives Out, with Blanc acting as a modern version of Hercule Poirot. Poirot serves as the connecting factor across Christie's series of mystery novels, with Blanc serving the same function in Knives Out and Glass Onion. Thinking of Johnson's films like Christie's novels makes his intentions for the franchise completely clear, since a reader can jump into any of Christie's mysteries and enjoy a satisfying reading experience without needing to consume the other books, though they may add to the experience.
Will There Be A Third Knives Out Mystery?
One more sequel to Knives Out with Craig reprising his detective role has already been confirmed as part of Netflix's deal with Johnson, with the director further teasing a fourth installment recently. Given Johnson's interest in Christie's works, it's likely that more Knives Out companion films will follow Glass Onion, since the acclaimed mystery writer penned 33 novels and many other works centered on Poirot. While no other Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery characters are likely to come back to the franchise, they could return in a cameo capacity in Knives Out 3.
Source: The Atlantic