Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. It is a standalone sequel to the 2019 film Knives Out, and the second installment in the Knives Out film series. Glass Onion sees Daniel Craig return as master detective Benoit Blanc as he takes on a new case revolving around tech billionaire Miles Bron (played by Edward Norton) and his closest friends. The ensemble cast also includes Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

Johnson had considered several films featuring the Benoit Blanc character before the first film's release. A sequel was greenlit by its original distributor Lionsgate in 2020, but in March 2021 Netflix bought the rights to two Knives Out sequels for $469 million. The cast signed on that May. Filming took place on the Greek island of Spetses in June and July 2021, and continued in Belgrade until September.

Following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, Glass Onion began a one-week limited theatrical release on November 23, 2022, and grossed $15 million. Netflix began streaming it on December 23. Like its predecessor, Glass Onion received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Johnson's screenplay and direction, the performances of the cast, and the musical score. The National Board of Review named Glass Onion as one of the top ten films of 2022. The film received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 95th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. A third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man, was released in theaters on November 26, 2025.

Plot

During the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, Miles Bron, the co-founder of technology company Alpha, hosts a murder mystery game at the Glass Onion, his mansion on a private island in Greece. He sends invitations via intricate puzzle boxes to his friend group, the "Disruptors": Alpha head scientist Lionel Toussaint, Connecticut governor Claire Debella, controversial model-turned-fashion designer Birdie Jay, men's rights streamer Duke Cody, and ousted Alpha co-founder Cassandra "Andi" Brand, who is estranged from the rest.

The Disruptors travel to Miles's island, along with Birdie's assistant Peg and Duke's girlfriend Whiskey. Famous detective Benoit Blanc joins them, claiming Miles invited him; however, upon arrival Miles privately tells Blanc that another guest probably invited him as a joke, and lets him stay. Before dinner, Miles shows off his glass sculpture collection and the Mona Lisa, which he has on loan from the Louvre. Miles also reveals that the mansion is powered by "Klear", a hydrogen-based alternative fuel that Alpha will soon sell despite Lionel and Claire's knowledge that it is dangerously volatile.

Blanc solves Miles's murder mystery game immediately and privately warns Miles that the Disruptors all have motives to kill him. After an argument with the rest of the group, Andi storms off. Duke suddenly dies after drinking from Miles's glass and the panicked group suspects that Andi attempted to poison Miles. Lionel calls the police but they are unable to arrive until morning. After the group discovers Duke's pistol is missing, a power outage occurs, prompting the group to scatter. Blanc finds Andi, but an unseen assailant shoots her. Blanc gathers the group away from the body and announces that he has solved Andi's murder.

An extended flashback shows that Andi had actually died a week earlier, apparently by suicide, and her twin sister Helen hired Blanc to investigate. Andi had halted Alpha's development of Klear because of safety concerns, so Miles fired her. Andi sued Miles, but lost after the other Disruptors perjured themselves by testifying that Miles and not Andi had single-handedly sketched out the original plan for Alpha on a napkin. Shortly before her death, Andi had emailed the group a photo showing that she had found the original napkin. Helen suspected that one of the Disruptors killed Andi and stole the napkin to protect Miles and themselves. With Andi's death not yet public knowledge, Blanc persuaded Helen to pose as Andi at Miles's party and help him investigate.

Helen helped Blanc discover the Disruptors' motives to protect Miles: Lionel and Claire have staked their reputations on Klear, Birdie needs Miles's financial assistance to handle the fallout of ignorantly employing sweatshops, and Duke was hoping for a show on Alpha News. Each of them visited Andi's home on the day she died. On the island, Helen searched the guests' rooms but did not find the napkin. When she was shot, Andi's journal in her jacket pocket stopped the bullet; with the other Disruptors believing her dead, she searched Miles's office.

Blanc announces that Miles committed both murders, having only dismissed the idea earlier because he overestimated Miles' intelligence. Miles drugged Andi and staged her “suicide” after learning she had the napkin, but Duke saw him leaving Andi's house. During the party, Duke saw a news report of Andi's death and, realizing that Miles was responsible, attempted to blackmail him. Miles then poisoned Duke with pineapple juice, which Duke was deathly allergic to, took Duke's pistol, and shot Helen.

Helen locates Andi's napkin in Miles's office and reveals her identity to the group. Miles burns the napkin, eliminating the evidence, and his friends refuse to testify against him. Blanc tells Helen that he has done all he can and goes outside. In a rage, Helen smashes Miles's glass sculptures, and the group briefly joins in. Helen lights a bonfire and throws a piece of Klear into the fire, causing an explosion that destroys the mansion and the Mona Lisa. With Klear now proven dangerous and Miles's reputation ruined by the destruction of the Mona Lisa, Miles has no leverage and the group decides to testify against him. On the beach, Helen and Blanc watch as police boats arrive.

Cast

• Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, a private investigator
• Edward Norton as Miles Bron, a billionaire and owner of Alpha, a large technology company
• Janelle Monáe as:
  • Helen Brand, Andi's identical twin sister, an elementary school teacher from Alabama
  • Andi Brand, Helen's identical twin sister, co-founder of Alpha and Miles's ex-business partner
• Kathryn Hahn as Claire Debella, the governor of Connecticut, now running for the United States Senate
• Leslie Odom Jr. as Lionel Toussaint, the head scientist for Miles's company
• Kate Hudson as Birdie Jay, a hedonistic, politically incorrect former supermodel turned fashion designer in New York
• Dave Bautista as Duke Cody, a video game streamer and men's rights activist on Twitch and YouTube
• Jessica Henwick as Peg, Birdie's assistant
• Madelyn Cline as Whiskey, Duke's girlfriend and Twitch channel assistant
• Noah Segan as Derol, a slacker who lives on Miles's island. Segan previously appeared in Knives Out (2019) as Trooper Wagner
• Jackie Hoffman as Mrs. Cody, Duke's mother
• Dallas Roberts as Devon Debella, Claire's husband

Additionally, Ethan Hawke appears briefly as Miles's assistant (credited as "Efficient Man"), Hugh Grant cameos as Phillip, Blanc's domestic partner, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt voices Miles's clock, the Hourly Dong (Gordon-Levitt had a vocal cameo in the previous film as Detective Hardrock). Several celebrities make cameo appearances as themselves, including Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Natasha Lyonne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Yo-Yo Ma, Jake Tapper, and Serena Williams. Sondheim and Lansbury both died before Glass Onion was released, and the film is dedicated to both of them. Jared Leto and Jeremy Renner's likenesses appear on bottles of kombucha and hot sauce, respectively. (Jeremy Renner also portrays Dr. Nat Sharp in the third Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man.)

Production

Development

Knives Out (2019) was a commercial success for MRC and Lionsgate Films, grossing $311 million on a budget of $40 million to become the year's second-highest-grossing film not based on existing intellectual property. Before its release, writer and director Rian Johnson had teased the possibility of a sequel revolving around the lead character, Detective Benoit Blanc. Lionsgate officially greenlit the sequel in early 2020.

In March 2021, Netflix outbid Amazon and Apple at an auction to acquire the rights to the film and another sequel to Knives Out for $469 million, with Johnson returning as director, Daniel Craig set to reprise his role as Blanc, and a budget of at least $40 million for each installment. Johnson, Craig, and the producer Ram Bergman reportedly earned more than $100 million for both productions. A losing bidder called it an inexplicable, "mind-boggling" deal.

Craig worked with a dialect coach to regain familiarity with Blanc's Southern accent. Johnson previously considered having Blanc speak with an inexplicably different accent in each film.