Rian Johnson crafted murder mystery games for the Glass Onion cast to play on weekends

When it comes to Glass Onion, the audience isn't the only ones asking whodunit.

At the world premiere of the highly anticipated Knives Out follow-up at the Toronto International Film Festival Saturday night, the cast revealed that writer-director Rian Johnson's love for puzzles and mysteries extended to life behind the scenes.

"We really bonded," said Janelle Monáe, who plays Cassandra Brand. "During the middle of making a murder mystery film, we really were having murder mystery parties on Saturdays. Every weekend. Rian would send a handwritten note to us all."

Netflix The cast of 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'

It's a fitting anecdote given that Johnson has repeatedly pointed to 1973's The Last of Sheila as a primary influence for Glass Onion — and that film was written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, both of whom had a penchant for creating scavenger hunts and imaginary murder mysteries for friends.

"It was a life-gasm being able to bond with everybody," Monáe added, speaking of their time solving Johnson's mysteries together. "This is what it's about; the human experience. It's really the people you have these experiences with that makes them so fulfilling and rich."

The film reunites audiences with Daniel Craig's Detective Benoit Blanc as he tries to crack a new case. This time he finds himself on a yacht and a private island in Greece, trying to work out why he's been invited for a weekend murder mystery game between a group of rich friends, all hiding secrets of their own.

Johnson described the follow-up as a departure from the 2019 film, not only in setting, moving from New England to Greece, but in tone and scale. "It had a very different narrative gambit to it in that it was trying something different and unique, and tonally, I was going to go where the characters led me," he said. "Which, given the characters in the movie, ended up to a slightly bigger place."

Netflix

In addition to Craig and Monáe, Glass Onion stars Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

While Netflix has already made a deal with Johnson for a third Knives Out mystery, the bonding experience that made Monáe gush has clearly also worked its magic on Craig. "It's my second time," he said of collaborating with Johnson. "And I hope we work together for the rest of my life."

Johnson reiterated that there will be more Benoit Blanc films, stating, "I'm going to keep making movies until Daniel blocks me on his phone."

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will play in select theaters beginning on a still-to-be-announced date this fall. It hits Netflix Dec. 23.

Related content:

• Daniel Craig peels back the layers of a mystery in first Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery teaser

• Rian Johnson on how the Beatles inspired the 'overwrought metaphor' of Knives Out sequel Glass Onion

• Daniel Craig has his Knives Out in first photos from Netflix sequel