Knives Out, one of the most notable non-franchise blockbusters to hit theaters in the last few years, is now a franchise that will play on Netflix. The sequel is set to film later this summer in Greece—after the production design of a New England estate in the first movie, I cannot WAIT to see what Rian Johnson & Co. do with a Mediterranean villa—and the cast is starting to take shape. Because Johnson has taste (see also: the man married film critic and historian Karina Longworth), the Knives Out franchise will be episodic so that each film is a new story centered on sleuth extraordinaire Benoit Blanc. Daniel Craig is returning as Blanc, but other than that, it’s a whole new cast this time around. The first new acquisitions are Dave Bautista and Ed Norton, and now, perhaps most exciting, Janelle Monae is set to join the cast. Her knives are out!
I don’t know which is a better prospect, Monae playing a witness/patsy character like Ana de Armas’s Marta, or Monae playing an Extravagant Widow who hosts Glamorous Soirees and Keeps Secrets. Or she could play an Accused Murderess who recruits Benoit Blanc to help her Clear Her Name, but either way I hope she wears at least one really huge hat. Janelle Monae looks so good in hats, and if she is playing a character Languishing On The Mediterranean, I hope she has one of those huge sun hats that looks like something Grace Kelly would wear. I am STILL obsessed with the production design of Knives Out, I am going to spend all my time daydreaming what Knives Out 2 is going to look like, and Janelle Monae is SO stylish in real life, it’s impossible not to imagine her in like, Grace Kelly’s To Catch A Thief wardrobe. Just put her in a series of exquisite gowns and hats—maybe one pool-side caftan—and let Daniel Craig ham it up with that accent and I will be so happy. I’m not interested in trying to out-guess whatever the mystery of Knives Out 2 will be, but I am very interested in making Pinterest boards about Janelle Monae as a Gossip Maven or similar.
