For Knives Out, see here.
- Actor-Inspired Element: The Frank T.J. Mackey outfit and haircut that Miles wears in one flashback scene was Edward Norton's idea; he had come up with it with the help of costume designer Jenny Eagan. Rian Johnson, who wasn't involved, approved of the look when Norton came to set wearing it one day.
- All-Star Cast:
- The main cast is full of big names: Daniel Craig, Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., and Kate Hudson.
- The film also has a bunch of celebrity cameos: Ethan Hawke and Hugh Grant play bit roles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a Voice-Only Cameo as the Hourly Dong, and Natasha Lyonne, Stephen Sondheim, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Yo-Yo Ma, Serena Williams, and Angela Lansbury cameo as themselves.
- Author Appeal: Glass Onion is set at a Greek island vacation because that was exactly where Johnson was fantasizing about being
while writing the film during COVID-19 lockdown. - Author's Saving Throw: Jessica Henwick was cast in this film as an apology from Rian Johnson, as her character from The Force Awakens Jessika Pava was not included in his Star Wars film The Last Jedi.
- Awesome, Dear Boy: Hugh Grant was a big fan of Knives Out, and so was more than willing to cameo as Benoit Blanc's partner in this film.
- Channel Hop: Netflix bought the Knives Out sequel distribution rights from Lionsgate for a whopping $469 million in 2020. It wasn't distributed in US theaters for more than a week due to Netflix's policy and theater dealsnote , as well as needing to do so for Academy Award consideration, where it grabbed a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplaynote . Lionsgate still stayed on board for the production itself.
- Creator Backlash: Rian Johnson was reportedly "pissed off" to be forced to add the A Knives Out Mystery subtitle for brand recognition reasons, as he wants each Benoit Blanc mystery to be treated as its own separate story.
- Creator In-Joke: Looking closely at the casting order for Glass Onion and Knives Out shows some definite connections. In both films, beyond the first billed being Daniel Craig, second billed (Chris Evans/Edward Norton) is the murderer, third billed (Ana de Armas/Janelle Monae) is arguably the true main character and driving force of the whole film, while the final billed actor (Christopher Plummer/Dave Bautista) is the victim.
- Deleted Scene:
- Edward Norton and Janelle Monáe revealed in a press conference that they filmed a scene where Miles and Andi play David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" together in a flashback to an open-mic night at the Glass Onion, with Claire and Birdie dancing along in the background. This was pitched by Norton and Monáe themselves, and was meant to show that Miles and Andi did have a genuine friendship with each other before it all went to shit. Not only would it have provided a counterpoint with Duke's murder at the after-dinner party, where two other tracks from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars play, but it also would've provided a chronological bookend with Miles' mocking invocation of the "Moonage Daydream" line "I'm an alligator" when chiding Helen for destroying both the Glass Onion and The Mona Lisa.
- Norton revealed on The View that there was a deleted take of Benoit Blanc responding to Miles Bron's offer to make him a drink with an improvised, "Oh, well, in that case I'll have a château de cristaux pastis, s'il vous plaît!" Norton was so amused by the line, he asked Rian Johnson to send him the deleted scene, so he could use it as his ringtone for whenever Daniel Craig calls him.
- Dueling Works:
- The film came out the same year as Death on the Nile. Both are part of a whodunnit film series with a Great Detective investigating a bunch of people for murder in a sunny Mediterranean country and boast an All-Star Cast.
- Glass Onion also came out a few months after See How They Run, another quirky whodunnit comedy with a Beatles-inspired title and an ensemble cast that lightly pokes fun at the genre and takes reference to the works of Agatha Christie. The difference is that See How They Run is a Period Piece set in 1953, while Glass Onion is set 20 Minutes into the Past in May 2020, and while Glass Onion merely takes inspiration from Christie's mystery novels, See How They Run features The Mousetrap as an integral plot point and even contains an appearance by Christie herself.
- DVD Commentary: Rian Johnson has one, in the form of a listen-along podcast. It has lots of behind the scenes trivia, praise for his cast and crew, and generally insightful commentary on all aspects of the film.
- Executive Meddling: It was Netflix's decision to add A Knives Out Mystery to the film's title in the trailers and promotional material. Rian Johnson wasn't pleased with this, since he deliberately made the film a standalone sequel and didn't want viewers to think it would be a continuation of the first film's plot lines.
- Fake American:
- Once again, Daniel Craig trades his English accent for a Southern accent to play Benoit Blanc.
- The English Jessica Henwick speaks with a standard American accent as Peg.
- Irony as She Is Cast:
- Edward Norton, known for his high intelligence, dogged professionalism, and for sometimes giving excessive input on the characters he plays, as Miles Bron, a slacker idiot who's never had a good idea of his own and tasks Lionel with delivering on his half-baked concepts.
- Duke Cody, the alt-right influencer, is played by Dave Bautista, who has taken a very public stance in his dislike for the alt-right because according to him an alt-right influencer unearthed tweets by James Gunn which then led to Disney firing Gunn (before Disney eventually reversed the decision), with Bautista constantly referring to the alt-right as "cyber Nazis" and loudly championing gender equality and LGBT+ rights. He also has a very close and loving relationship with his mother, as opposed to Duke being scolded and slapped by his disapproving mother.
- Jews Playing Nazis: Birdie appears to be a standard WASPy blonde, and she gets lambasted online for her use of an antisemitic slur. Her actress is Kate Hudson, who was raised Jewish.
- Meaningful Release Date: The movie was released in theaters on November 23rd, or 11/23. 1, 1, 2, and 3 are the first four numbers of the Fibonacci sequence.
- Posthumous Credit: Stephen Sondheim and Dame Angela Lansbury have small roles in the film, playing Among Us with Benoit Blanc and several other celebrities. Sondheim died late into 2021, and Lansbury died weeks before the premiere of the film; both are given a Dedication in the credits.
- Playing Against Type: Dave Bautista is primarily known for playing tough action heroes and layered characters in Science Fiction settings. In this movie, he plays Duke Cody, a pathetic Boisterous Weakling who never participates in any fight sequences outside of shooting his gun into the air once in a while.
- Playing Their Own Twin: Janelle Monáe plays identical twin sisters Cassandra "Andi" Brand and Helen Brand — the latter of whom spends a good chunk of the movie pretending to be the former.
- Production Posse: As usual for a Johnson film, we have Ram Bergman in the producer's chair, Steve Yedlin on cinematography, Bob Ducsay in the edit bay, Nathan Johnson writing the music, and cameos from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Noah Segan. Jenny Eagan, costume designer for Knives Out, also returns, and Natasha Lyonne, who's starring in Johnson's Poker Face in 2023, makes a cameo as herself.
- Throw It In!:
- Ethan Hawke's cameo as the "Efficient Man" who helps the Disruptors and Blanc in boarding Miles' ferry came about when Hawke happened to visit the set of this film while shooting Moon Knight in Budapest. He quickly filmed his scene and then left shortly afterward.
- During the climax, Peg breaks a glass wheel then looks shocked, as she gapes directly into the camera. Jessica Henwick just supposed to practice throwing the wheel, as there was only one prop, but she accidentally dropped it for real. Fortunately the camera was already rolling and caught the take.
- Rian Johnson revealed that if a reproduction of a famous painting is commissioned for and used during a film shoot, it's required by law to film oneself burning it to a cinder after the shoot so that the reproduction has no chance of entering the counterfeit art black market. This means that the film team didn't have to use CGI to set the Mona Lisa on fire — they could simply burn the reproduction, which is what is seen in the finished film.
- Underage Casting: Jackie Hoffman plays Duke's mom, but she's only 9 years older than Duke's actor Dave Bautista. However, it's entirely possible that Bautista (who was 52 at the time of filming) is older than his character.
- This is likely the intent: during the flashback to the Glass Onion bar, the characters are described as washed-up in their thirties. This was perhaps a decade ago; probably Duke, Claire and Miles are meant to be midforties, and the rest a little younger.
- Voice-Only Cameo: Joseph Gordon-Levitt once again gives his voice to the Knives Out sequel, as the "dong".
- What Could Have Been:
- Apparently Rian Johnson had considered giving Benoit Blanc a different accent for this movie, and in fact having him speak with a different accent in every film he appears in as a Running Gag, but ultimately decided to keep the Southern accent from the original, as it had become too iconic to the character.
- Kaley Cuoco auditioned for Birdie.
- Duke was originally pictured as a scrawny wannabe tough guy, but Dave Bautista’s audition led to the character being rewritten as physically strong but emotionally still a paper tiger.
- Helen Brand was originally written similarly to her sister, but Bill Hader suggested the character would be more sympathetic if she were completely unlike Andi and the Disruptors, being a working class teacher completely out of her element at a rich billionaire's party.
- The Mona Lisa depicted in Miles' mansion was originally planned to be a fake, with a post-credits scene revealing this by having Benoit Blanc phoning someone at the Louvre to make sure that the real painting was still in its place. Rian Johnson eventually cut the scene however, as he preferred the impact of having the actual Mona Lisa destroyed in the film's final moments.
- Word of Gay: Johnson confirmed in a press junket that Blanc is gay and that Philip is his partner.Rian Johnson (via ScreenRant): I felt like having Blanc be gay and have a partner just felt like a very natural thing coming out of the first movie.
- Word of St. Paul:
- Hugh Grant stated in an interview with Collider that Blanc and Phillip are in fact married.
- Noah Segan claims that he did not play Derol as Trooper Wagner from Knives Out in disguise.
- Hugh Grant stated in an interview with Collider
- Working Title: The movie was first promoted by Netflix in its 2022 movie slate trailer as simply "Knives Out 2".
- You Look Familiar:
- Noah Segan plays Derol, the random guy who lives on Miles' island. Segan also played Trooper Wagner in Knives Out.
- In Knives Out, Joseph Gordon-Levitt made an off-screen cameo as the voice of a detective on a crime show that Marta's sister was watching. He returns to provide the voice of Miles' Hourly Dong sound.
