The Title for ‘Knives Out 2’ Is Its Own Mystery

Patience is a virtue, and filmmaker Rian Johnson finally rewarded us with the title for the Knives Out sequel, but ever since, we’ve all been wondering … what does it mean? The first movie took us on the trail of the murder of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) and his family’s greedy need to solve the murder to get his fortune that they thought they were promised, only for it to be revealed that Ransom Drysdale (Chris Evans) found out about his grandfather cutting him out of the will and took matters into his own hands (even if it was all technically a mess). But the movie gave us a look into Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc and his detective skills.

So what’s with the new movie’s name? Knives Out was a reference to Thrombey’s novels and his collection of both real and prop knives around his home. But finally, Johnson has given us a little insight into how the name of the sequel was chosen.

What’s in a name? Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Title Explained

A new quote confirms that Rian Johnson was inspired by the Beatles’ “Glass Onion” for the name of the film. Decider managing editor Alex Zalben shared the following quote from Johnson on Twitter: “I’m always fishing for something fun that Blanc can grab onto as an overwrought metaphor that he can beat to death. This is all in plain sight from the very start. So, the idea of glass came to me, something that’s clear. I’ll be very honest. I literally got out my iPhone and searched my music library with the word ‘glass.’ There’s got to be some good glass songs. I was like, ‘Oh, is it a glass fortress? Is it a glass castle? Is it a glass man?’ The first thing that came up, because I’m a huge Beatles fan, is ‘Glass Onion.'”

Johnson first announced the title a few months ago, in a quick video showing some of the cast, with Johnson sharing his love for Agatha Christie, we got a new title for the sequel: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery! Johnson wrote, “Something I love about Agatha Christie is how she never tread water creatively. I think there’s a misperception that her books use the same formula over and over, but fans know the opposite is true,” to start a thread on Twitter, and went on to talk about the prospect of more mysteries with Benoit Blanc.

With Glass Onion, I instantly thought of the Beatles song of the same name, and now that Johnson has confirmed it, how does that work in connection to the film? I have no idea, but then again, I didn’t really know what to expect out of Knives Out except that it was a murder mystery. So it could be nothing, or it could be a clear indication of what’s to come.

And while Craig is the returning cast member we know of right now, there are plenty of new faces heading to the franchise.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery cast and characters

What we know of the cast, currently, is that Craig is returning in Knives Out 2 and will be joined by Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr., and Madelyn Cline. Ethan Hawke is also supposedly in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery cast, and yet is not listed in this teaser. What we don’t know is who they’re all playing. With Craig, we know he’s back as Benoit Blanc but that’s pretty much it. Everyone else? The possibilities are wide open, since this mystery won’t be connected to the one in the first movie. Even when we get character names, we won’t really know who any of them are until we see them in action.

Watch the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery teaser trailer

The new teaser dropped for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and it brought to us a look into the puzzles that await us. We got a brief look at the characters and their relationships to each other but the puzzle motif was really made clear in a way that this is going to be something we have to solve along with those in the story almost more than Knives Out was.

The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Release Date

News broke from Rian Johnson today that the film is heading to select theaters (we don’t know on what date yet) and Knives Out 2 officially release on Netflix on December 23rd, so a perfect film to watch during the holiday season yet again (much like Knives Out was during Thanksgiving of 2019). He shared the news with a new picture of the cast that gave us an official first look at some of these new characters (as well as the return of Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc).

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery looks yet again like a movie I need directly injected into my eyeballs much like Knives Out was and I can’t wait to see what mystery Johnson and Benoit Blanc have in store for us this time around.

(featured image: Lionsgate)