Although he was ripped to shreds for the abysmal Star Wars: The Last Jedi, writer and director Rian Johnson came back swinging with the 2019 film Knives Out. The comedic ensemble mystery was released by Lionsgate, and it boasted a deep cast with Hollywood heavyweights such as Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jaeden Martell, and LaKeith Stanfield. The fresh take on the whodunit genre quickly became a hit, and now Variety reports that Netflix is looking to get a taste of Knives Out's success.
According to Variety, Netflix has spent a mind-blowing $450 million for the rights to Knives Out 2 and 3, and both Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig will return to direct and star in the sequels, respectively. The report notes that Netflix's latest purchase marks the biggest check that the streaming giant has ever written to acquire rights for a property, following the $90 million spent on the polarizing Will Smith sci-fi flick Bright, $115 million on the Ben Affleck heist film Triple Frontier, and the $130 million for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.
Clearly, Netflix is betting big on the potential success of the Knives Out sequels. The first installment was created on a $40 million budget, and it went on to gross $311.4 million. Thus, it'll be interesting to see how far Netflix can take the murder-mystery film series because it is reportedly heading in a more anthology direction, completely separating itself from the events of the original Knives Out.
Are you looking forward to Netflix's Knives Out sequels?
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