Rian Johnson’s Next Film Cranks Up the Paranoia With a Sci-Fi Jolt
Fresh off three consecutive Knives Out capers, Rian Johnson is switching gears to a paranoia-laced thriller with a sci-fi edge.
Rian Johnson has been living in Benoit Blanc world for six years straight. He’s finally stepping outside the murder-mystery mansion for his next one — and it sounds like a sharp left turn in the best way.
- He’s pausing the Knives Out run after three in a row (Knives Out, Glass Onion, Wake Up Dead Man) to write an original film.
- Tone check: think 1970s paranoia thriller with a light sci-fi twist. He told Empire that’s the lane he’s aiming for.
- He’s no stranger to sci-fi (Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi), so the genre blend tracks.
- On Star Wars: he still loves it and would come back if the timing made sense. The much-talked-about new trilogy? It never got past the conceptual stage.
- Wake Up Dead Man lands on Netflix December 12. Early chatter says it’s a blast, with Josh O’Connor stealing focus, and it probably would crush with a big, vocal crowd in theaters.
So what’s he making next?
Johnson confirmed he’s taking a breather from Benoit Blanc and writing something new that isn’t a Knives Out entry. He joked that after three back-to-back Blanc mysteries, it’s probably healthy to see other people — and honestly, fair. While talking to Empire, he laid out the vibe he’s chasing:
"The most exciting thing right now is this idea I have in my head for the next thing I’m gonna make, and I think ultimately, that’s all you can do, is just kind of follow your nose. If I had to define it genre-wise, I’d say it harkens back to the '70s paranoid thrillers. It’s got a light sci-fi element to it."
That’s a fun lane for him. Looper proved he can juggle character-first storytelling with sci-fi mechanics, and his Star Wars installment was, if nothing else, ambitious. A lean, nervy thriller with a touch of sci-fi feels like a clean reset after a whole lot of Blanc.
About that Star Wars thing
He hasn’t shut the door. Johnson says Star Wars will always be turning in the back of his mind and if the stars align for both sides, he’d love to return. But let’s clear up the nerdy industry detail: the standalone trilogy announced before The Last Jedi’s release never really moved beyond the idea phase. His own words lately boil down to this — nothing actually happened; it was conceptual and stayed that way.
Meanwhile, Benoit Blanc isn’t going anywhere
Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Blanc mystery, hits Netflix on December 12. Early reactions are strong. Critic Chris Bumbray calls it another wildly entertaining chapter, singles out Josh O’Connor as maybe the most compelling central figure the series has had, and argues the movie would benefit from a real theatrical run because this kind of twisty crowd-pleaser just pops with an audience. Hard to argue. Netflix is where it’s landing, but the vibe screams big-screen fun.