Edward Norton’s career has officially come full circle, as he has signed on to joinDaniel CraigandDave Bautistain Netflix’s murder mysteryKnives Out 2.
Rian Johnsonreturns to write and direct the sequel, which is gearing up for a summer shoot in Greece. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film will be another murder mystery featuring a large ensemble cast, so there will plenty of suspects for Craig’s Benoit Blanc to investigate. Deadline broke the news of Norton’s casting, noting that like Bautista, hischaracter details are being kept under wraps.
Johnson andRam Bergmanare producingKnives Out 2, which will mark Norton’s first Netflix movie. I was surprised to discover that he’s never worked with the streaming giant before, but then again, he was busy directingMotherless Brooklynand working withWes Andersonthe past few years. Norton is no stranger to whodunit movies featuring someone with a southern accent, having launched his career with an Oscar-nominated turn as an accused murderer inPrimal Fear.
RELATED:How the MCU Was Made: ‘The Incredible Hulk’s Dueling Visions — and Dueling CutsOutside ofMotherless Brooklyn, Norton was last seen in a last-second cameo at the end ofAlita: Battle Angeland onThe Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis. He also lent his voice toSausage PartyandIsle of Dogsin recent years, but his only other live-action role was alongsideWill Smithin the holiday flopCollateral Beauty.
Though Norton will soon be seen as a kidnapper in Anderson’s long-delayed filmThe French Dispatch, one could say he really needed a major movie likeKnives Out 2, as no one has really seen him in a big film since 2014’sBirdmanandThe Grand Budapest Hotel. Norton is one of the industry’s finest actors – I watchedFight Clubagain this past weekend and he’s utterly brilliant in that film – so not only am I glad that a director is rewarding him with a plum part in a high-profile movie, but I think his casting is a coup forKnives Out 2, which should benefit from his involvement.
