'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery': First look shows dinner party scene

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Netflix released a first look Monday at Rian Johnson's Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, which shows the cast sitting around a dinner table.

Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, a private detective. He is joined in the sequel by Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline.

Johnson, who also directed Star Wars: The Last Jedi, said he casts his films the same way he would plan a dinner party.

"You try and invite people that you like," he told Netflix's Tudum. "But the reality is you never know. At the end of the day, just trying to get the best actors in each part, the actors that are most right for each individual part. So, you also just throw the dice and hold your breath. Luckily, we got a great group that really meshed."

The sequel takes place in a billionaire's compound in Greece. Johnson said although the films are inspired by the works of author Agatha Christie, there are other influences as well.

He also looked to films Evil Under the Sun (1982), and especially The Last of Sheila (1973), for inspiration.

"There are absolutely some very clear inspirations that I took from it," Johnson said. "First of all, it's structured around a group of friends, or frenemies, who all have a power dynamic with one of their successful friends. It begins with him sending an invitation for them to come and play this murder mystery game at this exotic locale. In The Last of Sheila, it's on his yacht, and everything ends up going horribly wrong. That is essentially how Glass Onion begins."

Knives Out opened in theaters in November 2019 and starred Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Ana de Armas and Katherine Langford.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will premiere in select theaters on a to-be-announced date and on Netflix on Dec. 23. It will have its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film will close out the BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 16.