Interview: Rian Johnson Chats About Crafting ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’

There’s a joy that’s impossible not to see when watching the work of Rian Johnson. At the same time, there’s also a sense that he’s always only making the exact film that he wants to be making. Especially when it comes to sequels to two highly successful properties (Knives Out and, of course, Star Wars), he never seems to be making any concessions to the franchise. It’s just what tickles him, and that makes him a singular filmmaker in the industry. Recently, I spoke to his cousin, composer Nathan Johnson (here) about the movie, as well as one of his stars in Janelle Monáe (here). Today, it’s Rian’s turn. This was a long in the works conversation, so hopefully you enjoy!

Below, you can see my discussion with Johnson. We’re focused on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, as you might imagine, but I did manage to work in some relevant chatter about Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In regards to the Knives Out follow-up, we talk about what was on his mind when writing, how the real world works its way into his flicks, and even a bit about the next installment, which he’s currently pondering. It’s a really fascinating chat, one that should make you eager to revisit (or finally get to, if you somehow haven’t seen it yet) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix now.

This here is some of what I had to say about Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery back at the Toronto International Film Festival:

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a blast. The film finds its rhythm very early on, making it incredibly smooth sailing. Moreover, this is the rare twisty movie that makes every reveal an improvement on the prior one. By the time the flick ends, it’s impossible not to have a giant smile on your face.

Filmmaker Rian Johnson is at the height of his powers here. This is very different than Knives Out, but always clearly existing in the same world. You can just imagine him grinning as he sees his vision coming together. The increase in scale is quite impressive and effectively done, in particular when it comes to the production design, which is phenomenal.

Here now is my interview with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery filmmaker Rian Johnson. Enjoy:

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix!