The suspects of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery found themselves inside another glass dome on the evening of Nov. 14. This time, the occasion was the Los Angeles premiere of writer-director Rian Johnson’s latest Knives Out installment, held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Although the star-studded cast is no longer in Greece surrounded by the Aegean Sea, a blue carpet was laid out for Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Edward Norton, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline and Noah Segan. Stars from the first Knives Out film were also in attendance, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell. The one guest missing? The dashing detective himself, Daniel Craig (who was said to be sick at home).
Fortunately, Craig is not absent in Johnson’s film, a follow-up of sorts to the 2019 whodunit box-office smash. On screen, Craig returns as the natty detective Benoit Blanc, who now finds himself sleuthing on a billionaire’s private Greek island. The deadly game is afoot after tech mogul Miles Bron (Norton) invites his eclectic group of friends to a murder-mystery getaway. The game takes a fatal turn when one of the guests (no, we’re not spilling the beans) turns up dead. With nowhere to run but into the sea, it’s clear that the killer is among them. As cocktails are downed and accusations fly, the question becomes not only who, but why? One thing Glass Onion has no shortage of is motives — and colorful potential culprits.
“When we cast these movies, it feels a little bit like throwing a party and you try to invite cool people,” Johnson told Tudum about his new film’s ensemble. Odom Jr. described the experience as a dream come true. “If you ever get invited to a Rian Johnson dinner party, accept the invitation. If you get invited, it’s a room you want to be in. He’s taken great care to save a spot for you because he thinks that you will offer something.”
With Craig absent, his Glass Onion co-stars stepped into his shoes to face Tudum’s red-carpet interrogation. The question we most wanted to know: Which cast member would be the best at cracking a real-life case? Here’s what they had to say…
Leslie Odom Jr.: Kate. Her instincts are finely tuned. There’s not a whole lot of people that have the kind of sixth, seventh and eighth senses that Kate has.
Noah Segan: I think Janelle has the best bullshit detector on Earth.
Edward Norton: Not Daniel because he gets bored of games very quickly. Rian really is the one who would be the best.
Rian Johnson: Janelle because she would bust your ass, man! We would throw murder mystery parties on the weekend and Janelle would show up in full costume and character, with Sherlock Holmes capes, fake mustaches and a pipe.
Kathryn Hahn: It would be either Kate, because she’s really good at these kinds of games, or Edward, because he has that kind of a mind.
Jessica Henwick: Kate because she’s so good at mafia. She always won.
Janelle Monáe: Kate is really good because she reads people very well.
Madelyn Cline: Kate and Leslie. Kate because she watches everybody like a hawk and will call anybody out on their bullshit. She notices everything. Leslie because he’s very methodical and logical. He keeps his cool and he’s always composed. I’ve never seen him lose his cool. Ever!
Kate Hudson: My secret is commitment. You gotta commit to the game. I love a game! I come to play, always. I appreciate it so much when [the cast] says that. If I had to choose someone else, it would be Janelle or Leslie because they’re both very focused. You think they’re not listening or watching and they’re seeing everything.
It sounds like Hudson and Monáe just might be giving Craig a run for his money. But don’t worry, detective Blanc will be back on the case when Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery hits select theaters for one week only for an exclusive sneak-preview event beginning on Nov. 23 before it hits Netflix on Dec. 23.
