Rian Johnson Says He’s ‘Pissed off’ That ‘Glass Onion’ Includes ‘Knives Out’ in Title

Following the release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix, Rian Johnson said he’s “pissed off” about its title.

In an interview with The Atlantic, the director explained that he just wanted the Knives Out sequel to be called Glass Onion. “I’ve tried hard to make them self-contained,” Johnson said of the burgeoning film franchise. “Honestly, I’m pissed off that we have A Knives Out Mystery in the title. You know? I want it to just be called Glass Onion.”

Daniel Craig is the only returning actor from the original film, reprising his role as world class detective Benoit Blanc. The critically-acclaimed sequel has no narrative connection to Knives Out at all, and the mystery at the center of the star-studded first movie doesn’t even get a mention in Glass Onion. 

“I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it’s a new novel off the shelf every time,” added Johnson. “But there’s a gravity of a thousand suns toward serialized storytelling.” 

Elsewhere in the interview, Johnson also addressed Netflix’s decision to give Glass Onion a short, limited theatrical release. “I’d love it to be [in theaters] longer; I’d love it to be in more theaters,” he said. “But also, I appreciate that Netflix has done this, because this was a huge effort on their part, and the theater chains, to reach across the aisle and make this happen. I’m hoping it does really well so we can demonstrate that they can complement each other.”

Netflix purchased the rights for two Knives Out sequels—including Glass Onion—in 2021, for a whopping $450 million. The title for the third installment has yet to be revealed.