‘Glass Onion’ Director Admits He’s ‘Pissed Off’ About Aspect of New Netflix Hit

Glass Onion director Rian Johnson recently opened up and candidly admitted that he is “pissed off” about one particular aspect of his new Netflix hit film. While speaking to The Atlantic about the movie, and he lamented that he had to add a subtitle connecting Glass Onion to its predecessor. “I’ve tried hard to make them self-contained. Honestly, I’m pissed off that we have A Knives Out Mystery in the title. You know?”

Johnson added, “I want it to just be called Glass Onion. I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it’s a new novel off the shelf every time. But there’s a gravity of a thousand suns toward serialized storytelling.” As noted, Glass Onion is a sequel to Johnson’s hit 2019 whodunit, . The film brings back Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc for a whole new mystery to solve. Additional Glass Onion cast members include Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom Jr.

The new comedy was previously released for a short theatrical run — ahead of its Netflix debut — which Johnson also discussed. “I’d love it to be [in theatres] longer; I’d love it to be in more theatres,” he said. “But also, I appreciate that Netflix has done this, because this was a huge effort on their part, and the theatre chains, to reach across the aisle and make this happen. I’m hoping it does really well so we can demonstrate that they can complement each other.”

Johnson added, “It’s not about the size of the picture, or the sound, or the sanctity of the space, or the magic of cinema, or whatever the f—. It’s about having a crowd of people around you laughing and reacting. Because these movies are engineered for that.”

Finally, the filmmaker also shared some insight into writing the movie, stating that he tried to avoid imagining any specific actors in the various roles. “It’s always tempting, but I really try not to,” Johnson said. “Because you always get your heart broken. Inevitably, you write with someone in mind, and they’re not available. It’s probably healthier anyway, because then you’re just trying to create a character.”

“Then I get together with my casting director, and we figure out who’s available and would be fun in the part,” he continued. “One thing I am conscious of when I’m writing is playing to the pleasure of the all-star cast. Knowing that we’re going after movie stars for each one of these parts makes me work a little harder to make sure they all have something to do in the movie that justifies it.” Glass Onion is now streaming on Netflix.