DAILY RUSH – Rian Johnson Talks “Glass Onion”
Director Rian Johnson talks about his upcoming sequel to “Knives Out”, his love for Agatha Christie mysteries, and that small independent Star Wars movie you might remember.
Rian Johnson stopped by the studio ahead of the Philadelphia premiere of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the long-awaited standalone sequel to his hit murder mystery Knives Out. The film will be shown at the Philadelphia Film Center tonight at 7:15 P.M. as part of the 31st Philadelphia Film Festival.
The director was thrilled to be back at WMMR, he pointed out how much he loved promoting the first Knives Out on the show. If you are a fan of The Beatles, you may recognize the title of the sequel, and that is no coincidence. “Glass Onion” is the name of a song on The White Album, and Rian confirmed that there are plenty of Beatles Easter eggs throughout the film.
The Knives Out films were born from Rian’s love of watching Agatha Christie movies as a child with his family. His goal is for audiences to share the same feelings he had when he was younger, giving them such a fun experience that they forget there is a mystery being solved. Rian did tell us that those mysteries are a massive undertaking. He spends the first eighty percent of the writing process drawing a “blueprint.” That helps him create satisfying mysteries with satisfying endings.
Rian and the cast of Glass Onion managed to create a tight-knit group while shooting. It makes sense considering they were locked down in hotels because of the Delta surge. He told us that they would rent out the rooftops of their hotels and play murder mystery games. Janelle Monáe even showed up in full Sherlock Holmes-esque costume and stayed in character the entire time. By the way, the rumors about Daniel Craig’s epic cast parties are true. Rian tipped his hat by saying that that they’re straight out of a Bond movie!
The conversation also lead to a few of Rian’s past credits, including his work on Casey Boy’s favorite show Breaking Bad. To Rian, an important part of the process was telling the story without directly trying to make it his.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be in theaters for one week only from November 23rd to the 29th. Then, starting December 23rd, it will be available for streaming on Netflix. Featuring a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Daniel Craig returning as detective Benoit Blanc, Edward Norton, Ethan Hawke, Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, and Leslie Odom Jr., it’s a must see.
As for the future sequel, Rian is looking for ideas. Got any?
