Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery movie storyline. Famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to Greece for his latest case, in Rian Johnson’s follow-up to Knives Out starring Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Madelyn Cline, and Jessica Henwick, with Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery joins an impressive list of writer-director Rian Johnson’s films to have premiered at the Festival, including The Brothers Bloom (TIFF ’08), Looper (the Opening Night selection for TIFF ’12), and, of course, Knives Out at TIFF ’19. In what is undoubtedly one of the year’s most anticipated films, Johnson brings us a new instalment in the exploits of detective Benoit Blanc, played with singular flair and aplomb by Daniel Craig. A cinematic cousin to Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Blanc’s well-mannered, gently eccentric exterior cloaks a sharp, observant eye and an instinct tuned to sniffing out misdeeds — and possibly murder.
In a significant change of tone from the previous film, this new adventure finds our intrepid detective on a Greek island, but how and why he comes to be there is only the first of many mysteries. Blanc soon encounters a distinctly disparate group of characters, played by notable actors such as Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Italian Job), Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton, One Night in Miami…), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dune), Janelle Monáe (Moonlight, Hidden Figures), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Kathryn Hahn (Bad Moms, Transparent), Madelyn Cline (Boy Erased), and Jessica Henwick (The Gray Man), among others.
As in all the best whodunits, the characters in Glass Onion all hide their own secrets, motivated by those most human and elemental of sins: greed, lust, envy, and pride — but which of these is the deadliest? Johnson, who has often credited Agatha Christie as an influence, makes murder irresistible once again. This time, there’s nary a cable-knit sweater in sight.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (titled onscreen as simply Glass Onion) is a 2022 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. It is the sequel to the 2019 film Knives Out, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as master detective Benoit Blanc as he takes on a new case revolving around tech billionaire Miles Bron (played by Edward Norton) and Bron’s closest friends. The ensemble cast also includes Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.
Johnson had considered the idea of several films featuring the Benoit Blanc character prior to the first film’s release. A sequel was greenlit by its original distributor Lionsgate in 2020, but in March 2021 Netflix bought the rights to two Knives Out sequels for US$469 million. The cast signed on that May. Filming took place on the island of Spetses, Greece, in June and July 2021, and continued in Belgrade until September.
Following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, Glass Onion began a one-week limited theatrical release on November 23, 2022, receiving the widest theatrical release ever for a Netflix film and grossing $15 million against a $40 million budget; Netflix began streaming it on December 23.
Like its predecessor, Glass Onion received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Johnson’s screenplay and direction, the performances of the cast, and musical score. It was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and received two nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Craig.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Madelyn Cline, Jackie Hoffman, Noah Segan
Screenplay by: Rian Johnson
Production Design by: Rick Heinrichs
Cinematography by: Steve Yedlin
Film Editing by: Bob Ducsay
Costume Design by: Jenny Eagan
Set Decoration by: Elli Griff
Art Direction by: Branimir Babic, Andrew Bennett
Music by: Nathan Johnson
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong language, some violence, sexual material and drug content.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: September 10, 2022 (TIFF), November 23, 2022 (United States), December 23, 2022 (Netflix)
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