Movies don’t really exist on their own lately. If it’s a hit, there will likely be more installments book tie-ins, or various television programs in order to keep that magic alive. It makes sense! If it works, why not milk it for all its worth? That’s why we get oh so many Star Wars tales.
Even though it’s fun and familiar for us, those making the movies might not be as excited about adding a subtitle, like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Director Rian Johnson, who is very familiar with franchise movie titles, is not so happy about the choice.
“I’ve tried hard to make them self-contained,” Johnson told The Atlantic recently. “Honestly, I’m pissed off that we have A Knives Out Mystery in the title. You know? I want it to just be called Glass Onion,” he added. The choice was likely pushed by Netflix in order for audiences to associate it with the hit film from 2019. Though then people might assume Chris Evans and his fancy sweaters are in the sequel (sadly, he is not).
Johnson then continued, “I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it’s a new novel off the shelf every time,” the director continued, explaining that he wants to stories to exist on their own without needing any backstory. “But there’s a gravity of a thousand suns toward serialized storytelling.”
Still, it seems like the subtitle worked! Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery became a hit in theaters, though Johnson would have preferred it to stay a bit longer before heading to Netflix last week. “I’d love it to be [in theaters] longer; I’d love it to be in more theaters,” he said. “But also, I appreciate that Netflix has done this, because this was a huge effort on their part, and the theater chains, to reach across the aisle and make this happen. I’m hoping it does really well so we can demonstrate that they can complement each other.” Hopefully, with this new move, more movies will get the option for streaming and theatrical releases. Nicole Kidman would really love that!