In a way, Rian Johnson—director of the upcoming Knives Out—was the perfect director to hire to helm a Star Wars movie. Since the beginning of the series, its films have been, at best, messy and uncompromising delights. And Johnson is the only filmmaker ever to have both written and directed a Star Was movie, aside from George Lucas himself (the others have split writing and directing among multiple parties). And, well, Star Wars at its worst? Let's just...not get into that right now. But the backlash to Johnson's The Last Jedi was, charitably, rubbish.
Later this year, Johnson returns to completely original filmmaking in Knives Out. It's a film I haven't seen yet, but one I have on good authority out of TIFF absolutely goes. Here's the new trailer, but I doubt you'll even need an ad to sell you on this.
Billed as a "whodunnit like no one's ever done it," Knives Out already looks entirely like my shit. An all-star cast that includes Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, and Michael Shannon? Sign me up. A mean-spirited twist on a Christie template? Just tell me where to sign.
Johnson, lest we forget, has been brilliant in his role as "storyteller turning genre on its head," long before his Star Wars sojourn. Brick is a masterclass in low-budget noir filmmaking—and remains Joseph Gordon-Levitt's best performance to date. The Brothers Bloom, cruelly overlooked, is a new kind of crime caper that invites us to rethink the entire genre. The guy rules is what I'm saying, your (bad) opinions on Last Jedi be damned. Without hyperbole, Johnson is a visionary. I can't wait to see what he's got up his sleeve this time.
Knives Out will be in theaters on November 27. Bring your parents, and your friends, and your enemies.
The next chapter's still at square one, but it's a very good square one.
