Rian Johnson: Knives Out’s Benoit Blanc is gay, "obviously"

Rian Johnson was reportedly super protective of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery spoilers during a London Film Festival Q&A, keeping the puzzle box plot details on lock ahead of the December 23, 2022 premiere on Netflix. But there was one thing the director was willing to confirm regarding the franchise’s central character, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig): the Southern detective’s sexuality. Asked directly if Blanc is gay, Johnson replied, “Yes, he obviously is,” per Insider.

This is not, as one might fear, a writer’s post-game retcon á la J.K. Rowling and Dumbledore, nor is it based solely on Blanc’s canonical love of showtunes. Instead—minor spoilers for Glass Onion here—the question was prompted by a brief scene in the film in which the gumshoe is depicted living with another man, reportedly one of the movie’s fun cameos. “There’s nobody in the world I can imagine in bringing me more joy for Benoit Blanc to be with,” Johnson teased of the mystery actor. Craig himself added: “No spoilers [but] who wouldn’t want to live with that person?”

How do you like that, Holmes and Watson shippers? Naturally, this glimpse at Blanc’s personal life takes a backseat to the game that’s afoot, but there’s plenty of time for more development of the detective’s character. Netflix has a deal for at least one more Knives Out mystery, and Craig is on board for way more Benoit. “I’d work with him [the] rest of my life,” the actor said of his collaboration with Johnson at the LFF (per Deadline).

For Sky News, Johnson reflected on the pair’s partnership: “There is a lot of giggling that happens between us when we’re shooting, I mean, that’s the whole reason we’re here. That’s the real reason we’re keeping making these things is because on the first one we had so much fun together and just got along so well, and on this one it felt like it was maybe even more fun.”

“So we’ll see,” he continued. “[As] long as these keep being fun and as long as we feel like we can find a different thing to do each time to keep surprising the audience and keep it fresh, we’ll keep making these.”