Knives Out director Rian Johnson recently revealed that Benoit Blanc, the master detective played by Daniel Craig, is gay. Blanc’s sexuality hasn’t really come into play that much in the first two films, beyond, perhaps, his fabulous fashion sense, but that doesn’t mean it won’t play a larger role in the planned third film.
Above the Line‘s Andrew Korpan caught up with Johnson on the Glass Onion red carpet at the Philadelphia Film Festival and asked the director why he felt it was necessary to address Blanc’s sexual identity and whether we’ll learn more about that side of the character in future Knives Out mysteries.
The truth is that Johnson was simply responding to a question and didn’t plan to make a big deal about it, thinking it would be obvious to those who pay close attention to the upcoming sequel, which co-stars Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom Jr.
“If you watch the movie, I think it’s made explicit. In terms of exploring it, I mean, maybe, but with these movies, I mean, they’re not really about the detective’s sexuality. [But] it’s baked into the genre a little bit [when] the detective is kind of set outside the realm of the human drama that’s going on with the rest of the suspects, so I’m sure it’ll come into play because it’s a big part of who he is, obviously,” said Johnson, who explained, “it’s just a fact about his character.”
Korpan also asked Johnson whether he was worried about spoilers leaking in advance of the sequel’s upcoming December release on Netflix given that it hits 600+ theaters a month earlier, albeit only for a week. And even after everything the Star Wars: The Last Jedi director has been through given the online discourse surrounding that film, he said he still has faith in the denizens of social media.
“There’s a perception that everything leaks online, but I think for someone who’s just casually online, I think generally people see a movie and they like the experience, and part of the experience is enjoying the surprises. They’re gonna wanna maintain those surprises for their friends and everything.”
Johnson pointed to the fact that the first Knives Out movie played film festivals months before its theatrical release, which clearly didn’t pose a problem since it grossed $311 million worldwide.
“What I’m hoping for is that our theatrical week is really successful and people go see it and have that experience, and [then] they go home to their families at Christmas and say, “Oh, you haven’t seen this, you’ll love it,” and put it on. So I’m hoping it’s the best of both worlds and people watch it in the theaters and watch it at home, just like I did growing up with home video, you know?
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be released in select theaters on Nov. 23 before it begins streaming exclusively on Netflix on Dec. 23.
