Netflix agrees deal for two Knives Out sequels, with Daniel Craig returning

Netflix has agreed a $450 million deal for two sequels to 2019 murder mystery Knives Out, the streaming giant has confirmed.

If Deadline are correct, this amount would make the deal one of the most expensive ever for any streaming platform in what is an increasingly competitive market.

The premise of Rian Johnson's Knives Out centred around private detective Benoit Blanc, who is called to investigate the death of a wealthy novelist and suspicion falls on his money-grabbing family.

The ensemble cast also featured a knitwear-clad Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield and the late Christopher Plummer.

In Roe McDermott's review of the film for Hot Press, she wrote:

"Johnson's writing blends searing social satire about race and class in America with a masterfully constructed central mystery, which unfolds in flashbacks, interrogations and throwaway comments that prove to be crucial clues. The wickedly talented ensemble cast are clearly having an absolute blast – and you will too."

Craig will reprise his role as Blanc in the sequels, and Johnson will return as director after earning an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. The creative's previous work includes Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Looper and Brick.

His fifth and final outing as 007, No Time To Die, is set for release in October following multiple COVID-enforced delays.

Knives Out was a critical and commercial success and grossed over $311 million at the box office against a $40 million budget.

Netflix currently has over 200 million subscribers around the world, but its main rival Disney+ is slated to overtake this amount by 2024. Other competitors include Amazon Prime, HBO Max and Apple+ TV.