LionsgateCalling all Knives Out fans: a sequel to the murder-mystery has officially been given the green light, according to Lionsgate executives.
CEO Jon Feltheimer and Motion Picture Group Chairman Joe Drake confirmed the news during a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Thursday, February 6.
They also hinted that production for the critically acclaimed whodunit, directed by Rian Johnson, was imminent – meaning we’ll get to see the ridiculously smart Benoit Blanc in action pretty soon, hopefully.
LionsgateDuring the call, the company confirmed its film revenue rose 30% in its third quarter – partly due to Knives Out, which is nearing the $300 million mark at the worldwide box office, and partly because of Midway and Bombshell, which were also released during Liongate’s fiscal Q3.
The news comes just weeks after Johnson, who earned his first Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay for the film, hinted that he was keen to do a sequel with Daniel Craig’s Blanc at the centre of the drama.
The director made the announcement while attending Lionsgate’s pre-Golden Globes party last month, saying he was eager to make the film quickly – ideally in the next year. It seems he’s holding up his end of the bargain as well, if Feltheimer and Drake’s recent conference call is anything to go by.
LionsgateJohnson told Deadline at the time:
I had such a good time making it, such a great time working with Daniel, and now just seeing that audiences are responding to it, the idea of continuing it on seems like it would just be a blast.
But there’s a lot that has to happen before that can happen, first and foremost being writing a script. So, we’ll see.
Now we just need to know if Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas etc… will be returning to the all-star cast. Although I doubt it if the narrative involves a brand new case, as has previously been reported.
LionsgateBeyond Blanc solving a new case, the rest of the plot remains a mystery seeing as though Johnson is yet to write a script for it. So I guess we’ll just have to keep waiting for news on that one.
And although Feltheimer didn’t confirm when the sequel was expected to be released, he did say he ‘expect[s] that our fiscal-year 2022 slate will be one of our most exciting ever.’
Eek!
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).