Knives Out Almost Didn't Get Daniel Craig As Its Star

One of the most delightful parts of Rian Johnson’s black comedy Knives Out--aside from Chris Evans’ sweater--was Daniel Craig’s famous investigator Benoit Blanc, and his over-the-top Southern accent. A new interview with director Rian Johnson has revealed that casting happened only due to serendipitous circumstances with Craig’s role as James Bond.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson revealed new details about the making of Knives Out. The quirky murder mystery was made on an unusually quick turnaround--Johnson said he started writing in January 2018, had a first draft by mid-year, a more finalized draft to send out by September, and then signed Daniel Craig on and started shooting within six weeks.

While Daniel Craig was top of the list to play Blanc, it almost didn’t work out with the English actor’s Bond commitments. Johnson said he purposefully didn’t write Blanc with any one actor in mind, just in case scheduling clashes made the casting impossible. However, Johnson says that “the Bond movie pushed like, three months” at just the right time, freeing up Craig for shooting on Knives Out.

After the success of the first film, Knives Out has already been approved for a sequel. Johnson says in the interview that he’ll be approaching the sequel like “just another Hercule Poirot novel”, where the setting, characters and murder will be completely different. While that may be a disappointment for anyone hoping for more Chris Evans in sweaters, we can at least be sure of more Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, and more of Johnson’s brilliant writing.