The 66th BFI London Film Festival will close with Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.
After bowing at Toronto, the film will have its European premiere at the festival on Oct. 16 ahead of its U.K. cinema release and subsequent Netflix launch, with Johnson, Craig, Norton, Monáe, Odom Jr., Hudson and Cline expected to be in attendance. In the follow-up to Johnson’s 2019 hit “Knives Out,” Craig reprises the role of detective Benoit Blanc, travelling to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects. Both films were produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman under their T-Street banner.
There will also be simultaneous preview screenings of the film taking place at cinemas across the U.K.
Johnson, said: “I’m thrilled to be back at LFF with ‘Glass Onion,’ and it’s an honor to be closing the festival. A proper whodunnit really does belong in London, so it feels a bit like coming home.”
Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival director, added: “Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’ was a major hit when we hosted the European premiere at the Festival in 2019. Our audiences adored the film’s wit and that it tipped its very stylish hat to the wonderful tradition of British onscreen sleuths. And here, Rian Johnson strikes gold again with the help of the year’s hottest ensemble cast. Like its predecessor, ‘Glass Onion’ is entertaining and culturally literate in equal measure, making some hilarious, razor sharp observations about the world we live in. The European premiere of ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ will bring the house down as the closing gala of the 66th BFI London Film Festival.”
As previously revealed, the world premiere of “Matilda the Musical” will open the festival.
The festival, in partnership with American Express, takes place Oct. 5-16. The full program will be revealed on Sept. 1.
