Rian Johnson's Knives Out 2 begins filming this June with Daniel Craig back as detective Benoit Blanc. After the divisive response to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson pivoted to the murder mystery genre for his next movie. Knives Out developed quickly and assembled a cast filled with A-list talent around Daniel Craig. The film proved to be one of the biggest pieces of original content upon its release in 2019, with Johnson receiving an Academy Award nomination for his subversive screenplay.
The success of Knives Out and overwhelmingly positive reception to it resulted in Johnson beginning development on a sequel. After working on Knives Out 2 for more than a year, the movie received a massive and surprising update. Netflix will be the home for Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 after striking a deal worth more than $400 million with Johnson. The investment in the Knives Out franchise by Netflix gives the sequel an incredible amount of momentum and will see production begin in a few months.
As part of Deadline's report about Netflix funding two more Knives Out movies, the outlet shared that Knives Out 2 will begin filming in June. The current planned start date is June 28, and production will take place in Greece. There are no official cast members aboard Knives Out 2 other than Daniel Craig, but the casting process will reportedly begin immediately to find another star-studded ensemble. The sequel does not have a release date at Netflix, but it could debut in 2022 based on this production schedule.
With filming only a few months away from starting, there will be plenty of Knives Out 2 updates to come. While fans have to wait to see who joins the sequel, production taking place in Greece could be significant. The first film took place in Massachusetts after the death of Harlan Thrombey, but Benoit Blanc appears to be heading overseas for his next adventure. It should be expected that Knives Out 2 will be set in Greece unless the country doubles for another European location. In any case, Blanc's mystery-solving appears to be going abroad.
If Knives Out 2 does take place internationally, it will be fascinating to see how Blanc becomes involved in the new mystery. It is possible that his detective work in the Thrombey investigation boosted his notoriety even more, but he was already well-known given the New Yorker article about him and his extensive career. Blanc could be hired to tackle the main mystery at the center of Knives Out 2 or coincidentally find himself in Europe at the time of the crime. Since Johnson subverted plenty of expectations with the original movie and has described the Knives Out sequel as totally different, there's no telling what he is planning next.
Source: Deadline