Rian Johnson Teases Bold New Direction For Knives Out 4

Fresh off Benoit Blanc wrapping up Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson is already poking at what a fourth Knives Out might be. Key word: might. He has ideas, but he is not racing into it, and honestly, that tracks for how he builds these movies.

Where Knives Out 4 stands right now

Johnson told Entertainment Weekly he has started noodling on Knives Out 4. Think loose concepts, not a story. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is absolutely still in play, but there is nothing close to a locked premise.

"Part of making these movies, for me, is reacting to the present moment, not necessarily with current events or politics or culture specifically, but in terms of what we’re all feeling in the world at that moment. The vibe check of the United States and the moment that we’re in."

If that sounds vague, it is on purpose. Johnson says he does not have a theme yet, no location, no concrete plot. He wants to keep it fuzzy until he is ready to sit down and actually write.

Why the pause

After rolling out three Benoit Blanc mysteries in a row, Johnson plans to step away from the franchise for a bit and make an original project before he commits to a fourth whodunit. It is less about dragging his feet and more about timing the next one to whatever the country is feeling when he writes it. It is a very him approach, and probably why these movies do not feel dusty.

• What exists: early, high-level concepts for Knives Out 4; Blanc will return.
• What does not: a theme, a setting, or a concrete story.
• What happens first: Johnson takes a breather to make a non-Knives Out original.
• When to expect it: unclear; he is waiting until the next story clicks with the cultural mood.
• Meanwhile: Wake Up Dead Man (Knives Out 3) is streaming on Netflix right now.

Bottom line: Knives Out 4 is real in Johnson’s head, just not on paper yet. When the vibe is right, he will write it.