After a dazzling turn as the nosey neighbor with a sinister secret in WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn may have landed another role that may have a sinister secret. She is the latest cast member announced for Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out. All character and plot details are unknown at this time, but here’s hoping that Hahn doesn’t turn out to be the killer/villain in this one, because I can already hear the audiences singing “It was Agatha all along!”
Daniel Craig will reprise his role as Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc, but it is believed that the rest of the cast will be all new. It has already been announced that Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, and Janelle Monáe will be in the new picture, which will follow Blanc as he investigates a fresh crime.
The first Knives Out was influenced by Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot novels, with Benoit Blanc clearly sharing certain traits with that famous fictional detective. That film boasted an impressive all-star cast of Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, and Lakeith Stanfield, with a relative newcomer, Ana de Armas playing the second lead and turning in a star-making performance. The film was a word-of-mouth smash, earning $311.4 million on a budget of $40 million.
The first feature was released by Lionsgate in theaters in the fall of 2019, but the studio didn’t hold the rights to the intellectual property. This allowed Netflix to swoop in this past March and snatch up the rights to two sequels for the price of $469 million. The streamer’s only requirements were that Craig remain attached as Blanc and that the budgets remain in the $40 million range.
Before playing Agnes/Agatha Harkness on WandaVision, Hahn was already a familiar face from television, having appeared on Parks and Recreation, Happyish, I Love Dick, Transparent, Mrs. Fletcher, and I Know This Much is True, and her voice can be heard on the animated series Central Park.
Considering the kooky tone of the first Knives Out, I think Kathryn Hahn is a perfect fit for the sequel! Check back for more casting news and other updates on Knives Out 2. (Or whatever it winds up being called. “Knives Out” was pretty specific to the first movie.)
Source: Deadline
