It looks like Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out franchise has a bright future ahead. According to Deadline, Netflix is currently closing in on a deal worth $400M+ for the two sequels. They would focus around a mystery solved by the super sleuth Benoit Blanc. Daniel Craig will return to the iconic role. Johnson is already working on the sequel’s script and will produce alongside Ram Bergman. The film is aiming for a production start in Greece by June 28th. It is the largest deal in streaming history that became a bidding war between Netflix, Apple, and Amazon. The original film was acquired by MRC, who distributed it with the help of Lionsgate. On a very modest budget of $40M, it managed to make $300M worldwide. As such, any future sequels became a hot commodity for making a lot of money on little investment.
Still, the deal could imply that the future sequels will get a budget increase. The money is made to balance out what the film would’ve gained through the regular Box Office. Netflix saw the property and believed in its potential to make up for it through its subscription model and took the investment opportunity. As Deadline points out, it would be quite the event film franchise for the streaming giant. It’s interesting to think that the film came together during the downtime for Daniel Craig after Danny Boyle‘s departure from the James Bond franchise. The last film had an amazing cast and after its success, we might see many more iconic actors try to weasel their way into the next production.
Source: Deadline
