What is The Last of Sheila and why you should watch it before Glass Onion

If you follow Rian Johnson on social media or have heard him talk about Glass Onion, you've likely seen him mention The Last of Sheila.

Johnson has long been a fan of the 1973 whodunnit, but its direct connection to Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was perhaps first directly revealed in a July 2021 tweet. Retweeting a fan account post about the film, he wrote, "Fantastic 70s whodunnit written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins and pretty much the reason I'm in Greece right now."

As Johnson says, renowned composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, a great lover of mysteries and puzzles himself, co-wrote the screenplay for the 1973 film with Anthony Perkins (yes, the Psycho actor). In honor of his work on the film, the late composer has a cameo early in Glass Onion. Sondheim and Perkins were inspired to write the story after creating elaborate scavenger hunt-style mystery games for their friends to play in days-long events that took them across New York.

In The Last of Sheila, one such game turns deadly when a group of wealthy friends is invited for a glamorous weekend aboard a yacht, where an unspooling of secrets leads to murder. The cast boasts some of the 1970s biggest stars, including Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Raquel Welch, James Mason, Joan Hackett, and a young Ian McShane. "The Last of Sheila has one of the all-time great '70s casts," Johnson quips to EW.

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When Clinton (Coburn) sends out invitations, gathering his friends on his yacht for a weekend of fun and games, things get sinister when they learn that the game has been rigged to reveal people's actual secrets — including who is responsible for the death of his late wife, Sheila.

A glimpse at the Glass Onion trailer shows a clear connection between the two properties, including an impressive yacht, a sunny Mediterranean setting, and the core concept of old friends harboring long-gestating resentments and secrets, coming together to play a murder mystery game. Not to mention the fact that Kate Hudson's Birdie Jay bears a strong resemblance to Dyan Cannon. "Complete Dyan Cannon vibe," Johnson agrees with a grin. "I'm so happy to hear you say that."

However, while The Last of Sheila was essential for the initial concept and jumping off-point of Glass Onion, Johnson doesn't think fans of the '70s movie should automatically assume they have a leg up when it comes to cracking the case. "The thing I'm most excited about is my friends who are big fans of The Last of Sheila who see the trailer and think they're going to show up and be able to solve the movie because they know The Last of Sheila," he says. "I'm very proud that the movie very immediately goes its own direction. It's really the set-up of the murder mystery game, hosted by the rich jerk who everybody has a motive to kill, that's just the starting point for it."

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But if he loves Sheila so much, why not lovingly borrow more from it (besides the desire to hoodwink Sheila fans)? Well, that's simple. "I wouldn't want to steal too much from Sondheim," Johnson admits. "It would not be good karma."

Still, it makes for a hell of a double feature.

The Last of Sheila is available to rent on several platforms and on Blu-ray via Warner Archive. Glass Onion hits theaters for a special one-week engagement on Nov. 23 before coming to Netflix one month later.

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