Everyone loves a puzzle, and Benoit Blanc is no exception. In the first teaser for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, we catch a glimpse of Blanc’s latest case, and this one is a doozy. A mysterious set of invitations, a reclusive millionaire’s private island and a wealthy set of friends tie it all together. Oh, and there’s the small matter of that mysterious death. Check it all out in the new teaser trailer above. 

This new whodunit is a far cry from the snowy mansion mystery of the first Knives Out — and there’s a reason for that. “I was writing [Glass Onion] during the lockdown of 2020, and I wanted to be on a beach vacation more than anything,” writer and director Rian Johnson tells Tudum. 

The sun-drenched teaser is full of that beach. Set to the strains of ‘Habanera’ from Carmen (a choice the musically inclined Blanc would likely approve of), the teaser for the new whodunit also pieces together the film’s colorful cast — and gives us a little insight into each of their personalities. Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Madelyn Cline, Janelle Monáe and Edward Norton all get their moment in the sun, before murder casts a shadow on their Grecian holiday.

And, of course, above the fray, there’s Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. “Lock the doors, stay in your rooms,” he intones over the teaser’s frantic final moments. “Everyone is in danger.” How are we supposed to stay in our rooms when you’re out here in an adorable vintage bathing suit sipping a cocktail, Benoit? You’re wearing an ascot! Be reasonable, sir. 

For Johnson, the fun of a new Knives Out mystery comes in the potential for variation. “So much of why I'm so into making these is that they just do bring me an intense amount of joy. Working with Daniel in this genre and having fun with it and the humor, getting to work with a new group of actors every time, everything about it just brings me happiness,” Johnson says. 

In the tradition of the great Agatha Christie’s novels, Johnson plans to play with the form in his Knives Out mysteries. “The phrase I kept coming back to and talking about the first movie is, ‘It's a roller coaster and not a crossword puzzle,’” Johnson says. “It's a common mistake in writing whodunits, thinking that you're making a crossword puzzle, and that the fun is that the audience is actually going to analyze all this and figure it out. I know when I'm reading or watching a whodunit, I always let go of the notion of figuring it out about a third of the way through it.”

So, don’t get too invested in solving the mystery with a Clue answer sheet of your own — that isn’t really Johnson’s intention. “The reality is that what makes something successful is a story, and that’s true of a whodunit as well,” he continues. “Are there characters that you care about? Are you pulled through emotionally? Are you on a ride with them with this story? Then the revelation of it all coming together and the whodunit, and the fact that it is all layered in there, is part of the fun of the genre. But, in a way, it can't be the spine that actually is supporting the body of the whole thing. You just need a good story.” 

In other words, Johnson learned from the very best: Christie, the whodunit queen . “Every single time, she found a way into it that felt unique and fresh, and you could tell it was challenging her creatively,” he says. Like Benoit Blanc himself, Johnson doesn’t want to coast; he wants a good challenge. 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will premiere in select theaters on a to-be-announced date and globally on Netflix Dec. 23. And before that, it’ll have its global premiere on Sep. 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Don’t forget: This is much more than a game. 

If you’d like to whet your puzzle-solving skills, head to www.knivesoutmystery.com and get cracking on a mystery of your own.