Rian Johnson Confirms Knives Out 4 Update After Three Consecutive Movies

Iconic director Rian Johnson is known for allegedly setting back the Star Wars franchise, but the director made a name for himself with the Knives Out franchise.

With three Knives Out movies to his name, the director recently talked about a potential fourth Knives Out movie. Ahead of the global release of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the director confirmed (via Deadline) that he will be taking a break from the franchise.

I’m writing right now, [but] it’s not one of these [Knives Out] films. It’s just something completely different, an original thing.

He continued,

I actually feel very energized after making this one [Wake Up Dead Man], but this is three in a row. It’s probably healthy to see other people.

Well, Rian Johnson is keeping a healthy relationship with the Knives Out franchise, and the director is not done with it.

Rian Johnson Doesn’t Want the Knives Out Franchise to End

Although the director is taking a healthy break from the Knives Out

franchise, it doesn’t mean that he wants it to end. At the BFI London Film Festival (via Variety), the director clarified that although he has created three movies, he would love to do more.

So as long as audiences want to keep seeing it, and Daniel and I are still having fun making them and still feel like we can come up with stuff that feels not just fresh, but a fresh challenge for us, I think that’ll translate to a new experience for the audience.

So, Rian Johnson is taking a break from the franchise, but he’s not completely done with it either. Well, at least there’s always the hope that Johnson will return to direct another Knives Out movie.

Why Rian Johnson’s “Break” From the Franchise is Actually Good

Creative work requires occasional breaks. Quantity ruins quality, and Rian Johnson has understood that fact quite well (unlike the MCU). The director’s decision to take a break from the franchise while keeping the hopes alive that he will eventually return is actually a good thing for Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc.

Much like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Benoit Blanc has become somewhat of a recognizable detective.

With Johnson writing and directing the stories, there would be a time when he would feel the burnout of writing compelling suspense stories. Before that time comes, Johnson decided to take a break from the franchise in hopes of returning with another banger of a movie.

Although fans are sad that we won’t be seeing another Knives Out movie for a while, it also comes with the fact that when the sequel does come, it will be better, more mysterious, and more suspenseful.

Do you think it’s a good idea for Rian Johnson to take a break? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will release on November 26, 2025, in select theaters (USA).