In a new interview, Johnson talked about the third Knives Out film which sees <\/a>Craig reprise his role as the Southern detective<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we were first trying to get Knives Out made, Daniel wasn\u2019t available. He was doing the Bond movies. He was my first choice for it but he was a hard \u2018not available\u2019 because he was on the Bond movies,\u201d Johnson told IndieWire.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we went to other people for it. We got a bunch of \u2018no\u2019s about Benoit Blanc,\u201d the filmmaker added, declining to share the names of actors who turned down the role.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll reiterate that the instant there was some delay with the Bond movie and Daniel had a window, the instant he became available, I leapt. Thank God. Thank God Daniel got it<\/a>,\u201d Johnson continued. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd the moment Daniel read the script and said yes, it was six weeks until we were shooting. So the whole movie was put together really, really quickly. Which, actually, with casting helps. It\u2019s not, can you save us a slot six months from now? And then maybe they get a Marvel movie, or something. It is, can you come to Boston next week?\u201d<\/p>\n The first Knives Out film, released in 2019, starred an ensemble cast of Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas in her breakout role. Made on a budget of about \u00a330m, the film made nearly \u00a3240m at the box office. <\/p>\n After the success of the first film under Lionsgate, Johnson sold the rights to two sequels to Netflix in a \u00a3345m deal. <\/p>\n Johnson, who also directed the Peacock series Poker Face<\/a> and the 2017 Star Wars film The Last Jedi<\/a>, said he would continue making Knives Out movies as long as both he and Craig enjoyed doing it. <\/p>\n \u201cFor me, personally, these movies are working with Daniel. It\u2019s a partnership. The instant either one of us feels even slightly like not doing it, we\u2019ll stop doing it,\u201d the director said. \u201cWe\u2019re in the boat together in this thing. I think the pressure we both put on ourselves is trying to do right by the other one. And that\u2019s a really good partnership. If Daniel is happy, I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n The third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and earned rave reviews<\/a>. It follows Blanc investigating a murder case at a local church, and incorporates themes of religion and the macabre, departing from the Agatha Christie style of the first two movies to embrace a darker mystery resembling Edgar Allen Poe\u2019s work<\/a>. <\/p>\n Craig is supported by new additions to the cast. Josh O\u2019Connor<\/a> plays the young priest Jud Duplenticy, Josh Brolin is the monsignor and Glenn Close a parishioner<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Rian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2244707084.jpg\")
Rian Johnson says Daniel Craig almost didn\u2019t play the detective Benoit Blanc (Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n