Rian Johnson wants to expand the Knives Out world to include a board game and a stage play

Rian Johnson wants the Knives Out extended universe to have layers — much like a glass onion or a doughnut within a doughnut.

The writer-director behind the mystery franchise that includes 2019's Knives Out and the forthcoming Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is eager to bring Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and his sleuthing skills to a variety of new mediums — most notably, a board game and the stage.

Johnson is already contracted for a third Knives Out film, but he's also ready to go beyond the world of the movie screen. Glass Onion has the notion of a mystery game at its center, Miles Bron's (Edward Norton) own puzzle and game-ified invite serving as the inciting incident for the events that unfold.

When EW asked the director if he'd be interested in creating a tabletop game inspired by Knives Out, his response was enthusiastic. "Are you kidding me?" he said. "Come on, approach me, please. I'm shouting it from the rooftops; let's make some games."

"My wife got me a board game of Columbo, which is actually quite good," he added. "A friend of ours collects board games, and there's a Murder She Wrote game, and I remember playing a 21 Baker Street game. Anyway, yes, the answer is yes, yes, a thousand times, yes, please."

Hasbro, Funko, Ravensburger, whichever one of you is up for it, give Johnson a call, won't you?

But Johnson doesn't want to stop at creating a game; he'd also be up for following in the footsteps of the grand dame of mystery herself, Agatha Christie. Christie's beloved stage play The Mousetrap is the longest-running play in history (itself a plot point in this fall's See How They Run).

"One of my favorite movies of all time is Sleuth, which obviously is a play," Johnson explained. "Even the movie feels like a play."

He even has a unique connection to The Mousetrap. "When we wrapped production on The Last Jedi in London, the very last night out that we had was we went to see The Mousetrap," he said. "It was such a joy. It was such a pleasure. I love theater, and the notion of crafting a mystery for the stage seems incredibly intriguing."

Johnson might have to convince his leading man, though, as Craig, no stranger to treading the boards himself, is on the fence about the idea of a Benoit Blanc stage play. "No, I don't think [I'd do it]," he says before quickly changing course. "Who knows? I don't know. I wouldn't put anything past Rian. He's more than capable of writing a stage play. So, I'd take the meeting."

Make sure to check out EW's Holiday Movie Preview cover story on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Related content:

• Through the looking glass: Inside Knives Out sequel Glass Onion
• The stars of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery make merry at EW's cover shoot
• Edward Norton invites us to solve his murder in first Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery trailer