'Glass Onion' Director Rian Johnson Is Unhappy With 'Knives Out' Sequel's Official Title

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" director Rian Johnson has expressed frustration over the official title of his film.

Following the film's Friday streaming debut on Netflix, Johnson admitted in an interview with The Atlantic that he didn't like the addition of "A Knives Out Mystery" to the title, noting that he only wanted to call the film "Glass Onion."

However, the production got the final say and added it for marketing purposes because it linked to the first movie starring Ana de Armas and Chris Evans.

"I've tried hard to make them self-contained," Johnson said of his "Knives Out" films, noting that the only overlap between the 2019 original and its 2022 sequel was Daniel Craig's detective character. "Honestly, I'm pissed off that we have 'A Knives Out Mystery' in the title. You know? I want it to just be called 'Glass Onion.'"

"I get it, and I want everyone who liked the first movie to know this is next in the series, but also, the whole appeal to me is it's a new novel off the shelf every time," he added. "But there's a gravity of a thousand suns toward serialized storytelling."

"Glass Onion" has been at the top of Netflix's daily most-watched chart since it premiered. It secured the top spot on its opening weekend and was watched for 82.1 million hours from Dec. 19 to Dec. 25. By Netflix's estimate, dividing the viewing hours by the film's 2.3-hour run time, about 35 million households watched the show, Variety reported.

"Glass Onion" features an entirely new mystery and ensemble of suspects, including Dave Bautista, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson and Edward Norton.

Johnson noted that he loves endings so he didn't want the "Knives Out" name to live on after the 2019 film, which nabbed him an Oscar nomination for original screenplay.

Johnson and Craig have already signed on to do a third "Knives Out" movie for Netflix. It remains unclear if the third installment will be the final film because the writer-director has said that he would not put a cap on the number of "Knives Out" films he can make as long as each entry remains a standalone story in the franchise.

"If each one of these can really be what Agatha Christie did, if it can be not just in a totally new location and a new cast, but also trying something exciting, I'll keep doing it as long as Daniel [Craig] and I are having a good time," Johnson told Variety earlier this year. "I'll keep making these as long as they let me."

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" streams on Netflix.