The Knives Out Easter eggs are part of the reason Rian Johnson's mystery is so much fun to revisit. These references not only dare the viewer to test their literary prowess and knowledge of the genre, but use that knowledge against them. Knives Out follows Detective Benoit Blanc, portrayed by Daniel Craig, as he investigates the murder of the popular mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) on the night of his 85th birthday party. Following Agatha Christie’s classic story structure, anyone who was present at Harlan’s party could be a suspect. Johnson's clear love of the genre make for more Knives Out Easter eggs than most viewers are able to spot.
One of the most compelling aspects of Knives Out is its awareness of murder mystery tropes, using them to mislead the audience. Instead of copying tradition, Knives Out cleverly acknowledges it through the use of Easter eggs and references to other detective stories and films that are woven throughout the background, constantly reminding the audience that this story is a murder mystery and, therefore, will function in the same way as its predecessors. That elevated awareness not only intelligently pokes fun at the mystery tropes that have become cliches, but also redirects the viewer’s attention so that they don’t see Knives Out's twist ending coming.
Benoit Blanc’s Mississippi Drawl
The influence of Agatha Christie is evident within every scene in Knives Out, from the gothic architecture to her basic formula, following a group of characters who coincidentally find themselves caught up in a murder mystery. Out of all of the references to Christie’s mystery novels, the most dynamic influence can be found in Detective Benoit Blanc himself, who appears to be a parody of the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, from his name to his deep Southern accent.
In an interview with ScreenCrush, Johnson explains how Blanc’s deep Southern accent was a detail he decided to include in the script. “I figured that because he was going to be in New England, to make him a fish out of water and maybe make the suspects in the case not take him quite seriously, I would give him this deep Southern lilt,” said Johnson. “Then I worked with Daniel during pre-production to kind of figure out what that meant.”
The Southern accent, which Craig modeled after the Mississippi drawl of the historian Shelby Foote, could be interpreted as a reference to Poirot, who is consistently referred to as a “foreigner” in Christie’s novels. As a renowned detective in 20th-century England, Poirot maintains that same fish-out-of-water semblance, with his Belgian accent and his asides in his native French language. Not only is Blanc’s background similar to Poirot’s, but his name intentionally has a similar cadence. In the same interview, Johnson stated that Benoit Blanc’s name was lifted from a French tutor he once had, and that he “thought it’d be fun to give a last name Americans would struggle with, a bit like Poirot.”
Tribute to Sleuth
Knives Out not only references classic mystery literature, but also pays tribute to Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s mystery film Sleuth. During an episode of EW’s Around the Table, Daniel Craig explains that Blanc first enters the story fresh from solving another case, one which was centered around a tennis player. Johnson shares that this detail about Blanc’s former case is actually a reference to Mankiewicz’s 1972 mystery thriller.
“At the beginning of Sleuth, the novel that he’s dictating is Death by Double Faults, and he’s describing how the killer paced along the lines of the tennis court and threw the body into the clay,” said Johnson. Similar to Sleuth’s opening, Knives Out first introduces Benoit Blanc by alluding to a fictitious detective story, the mystery film Sleuth, which not only perpetuates the archetypes of the mystery genre, but helps break down the boundaries between fiction and reality in the mind of the viewer.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Surprise Cameo
From neo-noirs to blockbusters, Rian Johnson has directed films across many genres and the one consistency among them is his continued partnership with actor and director, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Gordon-Levitt, who has starred in films such as The Dark Knight Rises and Inception, has been featured, whether it be in a leading role or a short cameo, in every single movie Johnson has directed, including his original mystery Knives Out.
The collaboration between the two dates as far back as Johnson’s first film, Brick (2005), in which Gordon-Levitt portrayed the main protagonist Brendan Frye. Since this first project, Gordon-Levitt has been featured in small roles in Johnson’s later films, including a recent cameo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi as the voice of Slowen-Lo, a resident of Canto Bight that reports the ship Rose and Finn ditch on the beach to the authorities.
In Knives Out, Gordon-Levitt’s cameo occurs during one of the few glimpses into Marta Cabrera’s (Ana de Armas) personal life outside the Thrombey estate. Unlike some of his previous cameos, Gordon-Levitt doesn’t make an onscreen appearance in Knives Out, but rather his voice can be heard on a television program that’s playing in the background of Marta’s apartment. Gordon-Levitt voices Detective Hardrock, a simple yet compelling bad-cop role that subtly juxtaposes the farcical detective archetypes present within Knives Out from Benoit Blanc’s genius to Lieutenant Elliot’s (Lakeith Stanfield) calm and collected persona.
The Mysterious Symbol From Brick
Since Knives Out marks Johnson’s return to the mystery genre, it seems only fitting that he would top off his latest mystery film with a callback to his first. Brick features a prominent symbol that was integral to the plot, and that helped lead the main character Brendan Frye to the site of his ex-girlfriend’s murder, essentially kick-starting the plot of the film. While the Easter egg is a subtle one, that same symbol briefly appears in Knives Out during the car chase scene between Marta Cabrera and Benoit Blanc.
In one last twist of the knife, Knives Out continues to comment on the audiences' prior set of knowledge by making one other reference to a novel. Thomas Pynchon’s satirical novel Knives Out, to which one character its never having read the book. When Blanc says, “No one has,” it further perpetuates the irony that exists at the core of Knives Out, that the mystery film is based off of concepts and themes from literature that the majority of people in modern times have never read, but are still known today because of their presence in knockoffs and riffs of the original detective stories.
In a film about a mystery writer’s legacy, none of the character’s themselves seem to have an interest in the written word. Harlan's portrait, smiling and watching the events of Knives Out unfold from its central location on the wall, almost appears like one final jest at the viewer’s expense that we don’t know as much as we think we do.
Glass Onion Has Plenty Of Knives Out Easter Eggs
Following the success of Knives Out, Rian Johnson had a new franchise on his hands with the Benoit Blanc mysterious continuing with Glass Onion. With Blanc as the only returning main character, Glass Onion featured a new star-studded cast, new location, and new murder mystery to contend with. In the midst of the worldwide pandemic, Blanc is invited to a private island to a group of "disrupters" for a murder mystery game that turns all too real. As different as it was, Glass Onion continued the tradition of Knives Out Easter eggs with so many hidden gems for fans to pick up on.
Some of the Easter eggs shown in Glass Onion are a little more obvious such as Blanc's celebrity friends he is playing Among Us with which include Angela Lansbury, star of mystery show Murder She Wrote, and Natasha Lyonne, star of Johnson's own mystery show Poker Face. Joseph Gordon-Levitt once again makes a voice cameo, hilariously providing the "hourly dong" heard on Miles Bron's island. Miles' various outfits also include some fun references as he is seen dressing like Tom Cruise in Magnolia and Steve Jobs at various points in the movie. Even "Gravity's Rainbow" makes another appearance as Serena Williams is seen reading it in her cameo.
The continued love and success for this franchise is seen with Glass Onion proving a big hit for Netflix, and earning Johnson another Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. While the Knives Out Easter eggs are just one small reason fans enjoy these movies, Johnson is sure to continue the trend with his next Benoit Blanc mystery known now as which has already been confirmed.
