Jessica Henwick Talks Knives Out Sequel Casting and Rian Johnson

Jessica Henwick is getting to thoroughly live her best life, working with some of the most exciting properties attainable. The actor received her first big break in Game of Thrones, only to move on to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the short-lived Netflix/Marvel series Iron Fist, and its Defenders spin-off series – before now moving on to The Matrix Resurrections.

Henwick also has plenty of other work to come, with the most notable being the upcoming sequel to Knives Out (currently just referred to as Knives Out 2), directed by Rian Johnson. Henwick was initially intended to work with the filmmaker she idolized, but due to script changes, she was never in a position to actually work with Johnson. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Henwick shared the story along with how it pushed her to strive for Knives Out 2.

She tells them, “When I was a teenager, I watched Brick in school, and I loved it. So I wrote [Rian Johnson] a fan email, and he never responded. Cut to seven years later, I’m in [Star Wars: The Force Awakens], and I’m meant to go back to [Star Wars: The Last Jedi]. But Rian cuts me out of the project! Cut to this year, I finally got sent this script, and I was like, ‘Put me in coach. Give me a Zoom. I don’t care if I get it. I just want to speak to Rian.’ So I revealed all of this to him. I was like, ‘I have a bone to pick with you!’ And of course, he was forced – he was morally obligated – to cast me in Knives Out.”

After getting rave reviews for her role as Bugs in the new Matrix film, there’s even more reason to be excited for her participation in the upcoming sequel – which already has quite an impressive cast roster of its own. Are you interested in seeing what Henwick brings to Knives Out 2?