Knives Out director Rian Johnson reveals Beatles inspiration behind sequel title Glass Onion
Rian Johnson reveals 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery' was named after the Beatles song.
The highly anticipated murder mystery sequel - which will see Daniel Craig return as private detective Benoit Blanc - is set to launch in December, and the filmmaker recently revealed its bizarre title.
Explaining his inspiration, Johnson told Netflix's Tudum: "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.’”
The cast for the follow-up to the original 2019 blockbuster boasts some big names, with Edward Norton coming in as tech biollionaire Miles Bron, alongside the likes of Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, Leslie Odom Jr, Madelyn Cline and Kate Hudson.
Describing his process for the ensemble, Johnson added: "You try and invite people that you like. But the reality is you never know.
"At the end of the day, just trying to get the best actors in each part, the actors that are most right for each individual part.
"So, you also just throw the dice and hold your breath. Luckily, we got a great group that really meshed.”
This time round, Craig's Blanc is more of a focus for the story, with Ana de Armas' character Marta being "very much the protagonist" in the first film.
He said: "In a big way, Blanc was the threat. He was almost the antagonist in terms of just the story structure, because you were worried, even as they got closer, that he was going to catch her and he was going to have to turn her over at the end.
"So Blanc was always outside of the sphere of our protagonist and was a little bit more of an enigma in the first movie.
"Whereas, in this one, Blanc gets an invitation to come to this murder mystery on this island. We’re very much meeting these people and getting into this world through his eyes.”
