Summary
The revelation of Daniel Craig’s newKnives Out 3look couldn’t be more ironic after a rival murder mystery series recently wrapped up its trilogy with a box office success. Director Rian Johnson’sKnives Outbrought Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery formula into the twenty-first century in 2019. The playful, subversive crime comedy messes with the whodunit plot formula, with Daniel Craig’s campy Benoit Blanc acting as Johnson’s homage to Christie’s iconic detective Hercule Poirot. 2022’sGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mysterysaw Blanc solve another case, while the upcomingWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mysterypromises more thrills.
However, Johnson’s Benoit Blanc mysteries aren’t the only franchise to reignite interest in the genre that Agatha Christie famously dominated.Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot moviesoffered a more traditional take on the murder mystery sub-genre, adapting classic Christie novels likeMurder On The Orient Express,Death On The Nile, andHallowe’en Party. The first two of these stories had already been brought to the big screen decades earlier, but this didn’t deter Branagh from assembling an impressively starry cast to revisit the classic Poirot mysteries. Surprisingly, both of these dueling franchises managed to fare well with critics and audiences.
Glass Onion Ending Explained: Breaking Down Every Knives Out 2 Twist
Glass Onion, the sequel to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, is an onion with layers. We break down the film’s many twists and ending in our explainer.
Knives Out 3’s Benoit Blanc Looks Like Kenneth Branagh (But Not Poirot)
Branagh Transformed Himself To Play Agatha Christie’s Detective
Now, after 2023’sHallowe’en PartyadaptationA Haunting In Veniceended Branagh’s Poirot trilogy, the first glimpse ofWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mysteryoffers a sly nod to the director/actor’s murder mystery movies. Johnson took toX(formerly Twitter)to show viewers an early teaseWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’s Benoit Blanc and, with shaggy blonde hair and stubble, Craig’s character looks suspiciously familiar.Craig’s Benoit Blanc now looks like Kenneth Branaghdid in his twoHarry Pottermovies,Much Ado About Nothing,Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and numerous other early roles.
Ironically, Craig’s Blanc looks nothing like Branagh’s version of Poirot since the actor trimmed his hair and shaved his stubble to match Christie’s character description. Thanks toThe Thursday Murder Club’s upcoming adaptation,Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mysteryfaces further competition from another starry murder mystery franchise, even though Branagh’s Poirot movies have come to an end. Fortunately, Johnson’s cheeky new look for Craig’s famous detective implies that the director isn’t worried about theKnives Outfranchise coexisting alongside a rival mystery series. After all, Blanc’s new look playfully acknowledges Branagh and, by extension, his Poirot movies.
How The Knives Out and Poirot Movies Succeeded Simultaneously
The Starry Murder Mystery Franchises Were Sufficiently Different
AlthoughRian Johnson’s Benoit Blanc movieshave their problems, the series has mostly enjoyed critical acclaim. Similarly, Branagh’s Poirot movies were box office hits despite competition from theKnives Outmovies. Their simultaneous success can be attributed to two very different styles. Branagh leaned into the source material’s period trappings, adapting iconic titles from Christie’s back catalog. In contrast, theKnives Outmovies are pointedly contemporary in their settings, storylines, characters, and style. Viewers can be sure thatKnives Out 3will be as timely and topical as its predecessors, whereas Branagh’s Poirot movies were more nostalgic and traditional.
