Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman are the latest to sign up for some of Warner Bros’ cash: more here.
Given Warner Bros Discovery has had its back against the wall for much of the last year or two, it was bound to try something to get out of the pickle it found itself in. In this case, the plan? Spend, and spend on talent.
Warner Bros – outside of Barbie – has become known as the studio that likes to delete completed films, and it ain’t a good look when trying to attract filmmakers. Still, the old-fashioned chequebook still seems to work, and over the past few months, the studio has inked expensive deals with the likes of Margot Robbie, Ryan Coogler and Tom Cruise.
The immediate priority for director Rian Johnson and regular producer Ram Bergman is their third Knives Out film, for which they’re committed to make for Netflix. Netflix spent megabucks to get two sequels out of them, and two sequels is just what they’ll get.
After that? It looks as though Johnson and Bergman will be heading to Warner Bros, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Will they be taking Knives Out with them? Feasible, given that they’ve indicated they’d like to keep making them, and that the first was distributed by Lionsgate.
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However, just as likely is them having new things to work on. The deal covers two films, although it doesn’t specifically say that Johnson will be directing them. We’d imagine that Warner Bros would be rather keen on that, though.
Mind you, T-Street – didn’t that used to be a mobile phone network? – also produced Oscar-winner American Fiction and Netflix’s 3-Body Problem, so maybe that’s where the Warner money is going.
We’ll find out in due course. In the meantime, Knives Out 3 is set to go before the cameras this year, and more on that as we hear it.
