The cast of director Rian Johnson's highly-anticipated Knives Out sequel has been growing recently. Now, WandaVision star Kathryn Hahn has become the latest newcomer to join returning star Daniel Craig in the Netflix project.
The critical and box office success of Johnson's Knives Out, a whodunit film inspired by mystery works such as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, prompted distributor Lionsgate to greenlight the development of a sequel. However, Knives Out producer Ram Bergman and Johnson, who both retained the rights to any sequels, decided to shop the project around after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in theatrical releases being less certain and a riskier gamble. Consequently, Netflix acquired the rights to two Knives Out sequels in a pricey deal that allowed Johnson to retain creative control over both projects and assured Craig's return as the brilliant detective Benoit Blanc.
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Deadline now reports that Hahn is the latest to join the cast of the first Knives Out sequel in an undisclosed role. Hahn joins an ensemble cast that includes Dave Bautista and Edward Norton as a new group of suspects for a fresh mystery that must be solved by Craig's Benoit Blanc. Additional plot details for Knives Out 2 are currently unknown at this time, as are the identities of the characters played by Hahn's aforementioned co-stars. With the Knives Out sequel poised to take place in a completely different setting, production on the film is scheduled to begin this summer in Greece.
The original Knives Out centered on the murder of Harlan Thrombey, a wealthy mystery novelist who is found by a housekeeper dead with his throat slit. While the police believe the death was a suicide, Benoit Blanc is summoned by an unknown third party to investigate the supposed murder and quickly realizes that all of the members of Thrombey's family have ample reason to be angry at the late author. Complicating matters for the audience is additional information not known to the characters in Knives Out regarding Harlan's nurse, Marta Cabrera, and what unfolds between the two on the night of his death.
Hahn herself recently caught the attention of audiences around the world with her role as Agatha Harkness in Marvel Studios' WandaVision. Because Harkness ended up being the true identity of the nosey neighbor to Wanda Maximoff and Vision in the Disney Plus series, fans are likely to suspect Hahn's character in the Knives Out sequel could also be hiding a sinister secret.
Fans who are concerned about the Knives Out franchise making the jump from theatrical to streaming releases need not be worried. The deal between Johnson and Netflix reportedly ensures the Knives Out sequels will have budgets comparable to the first installment.
Knives Out is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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Source: Deadline