Glass Onion: A Knife Mystery seems to have everything that made the original Blades off a great whodunit: a star-studded cast, Southern detective Benoit Blanc, and a mystery with layers upon layers to unravel. Unfortunately, according to director Rian Johnsonthe upcoming sequel may be missing an important part that made the first movie so great.
Knives Out was released in theaters in 2019, bringing in $311 million on a $40 million budget. It was one of the biggest hits of the year, leading Netflix to acquire the rights to future sequels for a hefty $450 million price tag. Now, the big screen chance for Glass Onion is in the air, as the film will hit Netflix on December 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 says: The Washington Post he’s not sure Glass Onion arriving at the movie, even though he wanted to watch the movie that way.
“This movie is primarily designed to be a good time with a large crowd of people in a theater. I want as many people as possible to see the movie in the cinema. That being said, I know a lot of people are discovering ‘Knives Out’ with their families back home once it was streamed But this movie is designed to be seen with a crowd in a theater It’s less like “Top Gun” when it comes to the big experience of the screen and sound, and it’s more about being surrounded by people who will have as much fun as you do. My goal is to hopefully be like that if you want to see it in a theater, you can. But we’re still TBA.”
Johnson recognizes the changing industry landscape
The landscape of the entertainment industry changed forever after the pandemic, when cinemas closed and movies went straight to streaming. While cinema is starting to see a revival after the long hiatus, Rian Johnson acknowledges that the way movies are released has changed forever. During his interview with The Washington Post, the filmmaker says he reminds himself that if a movie is good, people will find a way to watch it.
“As a form of self-defense, I have the serenity that if you make a good movie, you put it there and people will find it. In the end, you just have to get to a place of Zen, because everything changes so quickly.”
Lucky for Johnson, the first reviews of Glass Onion have arrived, and they praise the film, some say it may have surpassed the original. MovieWeb calls the film a “hilarious and exciting sequel” and says the result is “a smarter, more exciting and riotous sequel that exceeds expectations and is sure to captivate fans of the original.” Fans can hope for a nationwide release of Glass Onion: A Knife Mystery in theaters or watch it when it hits Netflix on December 23.