With his latest “Knives Out” mystery, “Wake Up Dead Man,” hitting theaters next week ahead of its Netflix premiere on December 12, Rian Johnson is making the press rounds, talking about the franchise, its future, and whether Netflix will be involved. But one thing Johnson hasn’t talked about much is his next film, which, no, isn’t another team-up with Daniel Craig‘s Benoit Blanc. Instead, it’s part of a two-film deal Johnson signed with Warner Bros. back in 2024.
So, what’s the scoop on the next RJ joint? In a new interview with IndieWire, the director spilled some juicy details on what he’s writing. “I’d call it a paranoid thriller. A ‘70s paranoid thriller, sort of,” said Johnson. “With a sci-fi twinge. I’m still thinking about it, but I’m really excited about it.” A ’70s paranoid thriller with sci-fi elements from the mind of Rian Johnson? Sign us up for that immediately. The director’s comments follow up on similar ones he made to Empire last month: “If I had to define it genre-wise, I’d say it harkens back to the ’70s paranoid thrillers. It’s got a light sci-fi element to it.”
Of course, the best paranoid thrillers from the ’70s lack overt sci-fi tropes. Films like Alan J. Pakula‘s “Klute,” “The Parallax View,” and “All The President’s Men” certainly don’t. Neither does Francis Ford Coppola‘s “The Conversation,” or other classics from that era, like “Marathon Man” or “Three Days Of The Condor.” However, there are a few that blend the two genres, albeit with mixed results. Films like “Soylent Green” or the 1978 “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” remake come to mind here, but they’re not typically classified as paranoid thrillers. Neither is John Frankenheimer‘s “Seconds,” another excellent film, but that film hit theaters in 1966.
But Johnson’s brief comments aren’t enough to speculate just what he has in mind for the picture; how sci-fi he gets will remain a mystery until a logline or synopsis surfaces. Still, Johnson has done sci-fi before, in 2012’s “Looper” and 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Will time travel and space ships factor into this paranoid thriller? Not likely, but Johnson tends to surprise his audience in unexpected ways.
There’s no word on when this project will start shooting, much less begin casting, so don’t expect any updates for the foreseeable future. Look at it instead as one of several irons in Johnson’s fire, like the inevitable “Knives Out 4,” or the potential “Poker Face” revival with Peter Dinklage, should any network pick that up. It’ll surface, eventually; Johnson’s never gone longer than five years between films, so there will be more news about this paranoid thriller he’s cooking up soon enough.
