Rian Johnson Announces ‘Knives Out 2’ Is Starting Production in Greece

Antonio Ferme
·2 min read
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Detective Benoit Blanc’s next investigation has begun — and it looks like he’ll be leaving Massachusetts behind for a much sunnier location.

Rian Johnson announced on Twitter Monday morning that production on “Knives Out 2” has commenced in the warm Mediterranean shores of Greece.

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“Aaaaaaaand WE’RE OFF!,” Johnson wrote. “Day one of filming on the next Benoit Blanc mystery. Thanks to all the lovely patient people here in Greece for letting us do all this murdering on their peaceful shores.”

According to various media reports, shooting locations are reported to be Spetses, an affluent island off the northeastern Peloponnese coast and nearby Porto Heli, in the area known as the Greek Riviera. The film is expected to conclude shooting in Greece by the end of July or August.

While Daniel Craig will reprise his role as the clever private investigator Benoit Blanc, Johnson’s sequel boasts a completely new cast. Joining the mystery this time around are Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline and Jessica Henwick.

The original “Knives Out,” which had a modest budget of $40 million, grossed $311.5 million at the global box office — cementing itself as a major franchise contender for Lionsgate. After greenlighting a sequel in February 2020, Johnson and co-producer Ram Bergman shopped around for a distributor for about a year.

In March, Netflix bought the rights to “Knives Out 2” and “Knives Out 3” for more than $450 million — marking a major move for the streaming service as competing platforms such as HBO Max, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and Amazon Prime rise as major contenders. While Netflix has released some of its high-profile films in a moderate number of theaters, it’s unclear what the release strategy will be for the “Knives Out” sequels.

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