Janelle Monáe is in talks to join Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson’s upcoming “Knives Out” sequel, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
Details about Monáe’s role are being kept under wraps. Edward Norton and “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Dave Bautista also recently joined the cast. Netflix had no comment.
The casting comes two months after Johnson signed a $400 million-plus deal with Netflix to write and direct two sequels to the Oscar-nominated murder mystery film, with Craig returning as ace detective Benoit Blanc. Johnson will also produce with partner Ram Bergman, with shooting set to begin this summer in Greece.
The deal is one of the largest for a streamer in history, and it provides Netflix a franchise as competition in the streaming space has increased dramatically over the last few months.
The original “Knives Out,” a murder mystery in the vein of an Agatha Christie whodunit that was released in 2019, was an acquisition as part of a single picture deal with Media Rights Capital (MRC) and was released by Lionsgate. It made over $311 million worldwide on a budget of $40 million. The film rights were owned by Johnson and producing partner Ram Bergman.
Craig starred as Blanc investigating the death of the wealthy author Harlan Thrombey (played by the late Christopher Plummer in one of his last roles). The film boasted an impressive cast that included Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaedan Martell, all of whom compose Harlan’s family of money and power hungry heirs. Johnson also scored an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his work.
Monáe was most recently seen in Amazon’s “The Gloria’s” and “Antebellum for Lionsgate.
Janelle Monáe is repped by WME, Wondaland and Ziffren Brittenham
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.
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