The Knives Out franchise, under the direction of Rian Johnson, is set to get a third film, and only he, the filmmaker, confirms he will helm it if the murder-mystery series expands in the future.

“I don’t see it as IP,” he tells Variety. “Each Knives Out film is something I want to make. If that stops being the case, we won’t do another one.”

His remarks were in line with his previous comments about his wish to direct more whodunit movies.

“Creatively, I feel energized after making this one. Daniel and I are already starting to formulate … what could the next one be if we do another one? I don’t know why I would stop doing it if we could keep making them,” he shared.

Meanwhile, Daniel Craig, who stars as Benoit Blanc, is the lead star in the franchise. In the latest interview, he reflects on his relationship with Rian as a director-actor duo in the franchise, which began in 2019.

“The thing is, we didn’t make the first movie thinking we were going to make two more! We’re both long enough in the tooth to realize that ain’t the way it works,” he tells Gold Derby.

“For everybody concerned, it was a wonderful surprise the way that audiences reacted to the first one, and that presents itself with, Now you’ve got to make another one. That’s a high class problem, but it’s still a problem.”

Rian further adds, “It’s become more of a partnership. With the first movie, we just met cold and jumped into it. [Collaborating] has been one of the true joys of it.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is playing in cinemas.