Knives Out 2 And 3 Will See Daniel Craig, Rian Johnson Get Paid $100 Million Each - Report

A new story from The Hollywood Reporter has shed some light on Netflix's blockbuster deal to buy the Knives Out sequels. The story talks about how the deal went down, how much creative control director Rian Johnson is getting, what the terms of the deal were, and how much money the key talent stands to make.

Sources said Johnson is getting "immense creative control" with the Knives Out sequels. "He doesn't have to take notes from the streamer," the report said. Netflix did have two demands, however--that star Daniel Craig, who played the southern detective Benoit Blanc, would star in both sequels. Additionally, each sequel needed to have a similar budget to the 2019 film, which was about $40 million, according to the report.

In terms of how much money the key talent will make off the deal, THR said Johnson, Craig, and producer Ram Bergman will take home $100 million or more each. Netflix is paying a total of around $469 million for the Knives Out sequels, according to the report.

The production company MRC financed the original Knives Out, and sources told THR that the company only had a one-movie deal. A spokesperson for MRC said Johnson and Bergman "have always controlled the rights" to the Knives Out series, so they were seemingly free to take the sequels out onto the open market.

Lionsgate distributed the original Knives Out, and THR said the company had "first right of negotiation and last rights of refusal," which historically would have protected it from losing out on sequels. However, the report said Johnson and Bergman, along with their talent agency in CAA, decided to pitch the sequels to streaming companies in the wake of the pandemic. MRC and Lionsgate couldn't match Netflix's offer, it seems.

A source told THR that Netflix is overpaying on the value of the Knives Out sequels, but it makes sense to do so because, "It takes a proven theatrical commodity off the board and puts it in their pocket."

You can get the full story at THR.

It's still early days for the Knives Out sequels. Apart from Craig returning as Blanc, there is no word yet on the cast or stories for the sequels. The first film was a whodunnit mystery, the formula for which is applicable in a number of settings and environments.

In addition to the Knives Out sequels, Johnson is still planning his Star Wars trilogy.