After creating one of the best films in the Star Wars universe and before he re-enters a galaxy far, far away for his own trilogy, Rian Johnson is getting a much-deserved break from all things Jedi-related for his next project. He’ll next be directing a modern-day murder mystery starring Daniel Craig, titled Knives Out.
We can thank Danny Boyle for making the project happen as his exit from Bond 25 caused an opening in Craig’s schedule to shoot this next project, starting this November. The actor will star as a detective, and he’ll be joined by six-to-eight others in the main cast, but not many more details are available beyond that at this stage. According to the director, he told Deadline he “has been an Agatha Christie nut since his teens, sparking to her richly drawn characters and the twists and turns that drove her whodunits. For a decade, he has been framing in his mind how he would make his own murder mystery, and over the summer he scripted his contemporary version of the locked door mansion murder mystery.”
“I have been a huge fan and always wanted to work with him and as I worked on the script, trying to get it right, Ram and I were wringing our hands over who could be the detective,” Johnson said. “Then, serendipitously, we heard Daniel might have a small window, and it worked out. He’s an actor of extraordinary range, and we are looking forward to the fun of finding that modern detective, and collaborating with Daniel on creating a new Poirot.”
The prospect of Johnson returning to the vibe of Brick and The Brothers Bloom has us mightly excited, along with a star like Craig, who flexed quite a different side in Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky recently. Knives Out will currently be on the market at TIFF, and we imagine a distributor will come on board fairly quickly. For now, we’ll leave you with this, which currently has no relation to Johnson’s new film: