credit: Knives Out
A Knives Out Muppet movie probably won’t happen after listening to Rian Johnson. The idea was thought up as a joke initially, but as of yet, it hasn’t materialized into anything solid. The question of whether it would work has a lot of people thinking that it could stand on its own as an idea.
In all honesty, it could work, but it would have to incorporate several key elements to make the movie enticing enough to watch. Those who are fans of Johnson’s might feel inclined to watch due to his involvement. But apart from this, Muppet movies tend to attract those who genuinely love the Muppets or have kids that do. The thought that this could run as a gag movie isn’t entirely accurate since it doesn’t sound as though this is what Johnson wants.
The Muppets have seen success when integrated into real-world scenes. The suspension of disbelief is usually strong enough to allow for such movies, as people tend to enjoy them. But creating a whodunit in the Knives Out style while using Muppets along with humans sounds iffy.
There is a possibility of success thanks to the fans and their love of the Muppets. But it’s still less than a possibility at the moment.
credit: The Muppets
There’s a good chance something wouldn’t go right
A movie with the Muppets has to find a balance point that allows fans to feel that everything is supposed to work together. However, the Muppets usually present the challenge of how to fit live-action puppets in a realistic setting. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a movie, such as this.
The upside is that people do love the Muppets and have been happy to see a few movies emerge with these famous characters. With that said, though, one has to realize that there are Muppet movies that haven’t worked as well. Given that a murder mystery is usually more of an adult type of movie, it feels that Johnson would have his work cut out for him.
Trying to imagine Benoit Blanc in this type of movie isn’t that tough. But there is the idea that something wouldn’t feel right at some point. The Muppets are well-liked, but it’s also easy to state that such a movie wouldn’t receive universal praise.
Benoit Blanc might work well in this capacity
Daniel Craig has shown that he’s versatile and adaptable enough to make just about anything work. Using the thought that he went from portraying James Bond to someone like Benoit Blanc makes this point quite well. Working with a story that could possibly come off as a goofy but lovable tale is well within his means. The idea, however, is that Blanc would still need to look intelligent and not play down his abilities.
Benoit Blanc is the type of character that can exist in a movie that’s a bit silly while still taking on a very real mystery. However, unlike the movie titled The Happytime Murders, a movie with the Muppets would likely retain its comedic side.
credit: Knives Out
Is Rian Johnson ready to make the next movie into a pure comedy
That’s a real question since, with the Muppets things don’t get that serious. They kind of can’t since otherwise, they end up telling a story that is seriously against type. Trying to balance this story out in a manner that would keep the comedy but introduce a serious note to it now and again would present a challenge.
There are a number of different ways to approach a project such as this, but most of them are going to involve getting silly. The nature of the Muppets is partly defined by their appearance and the long history they have in TV. Bringing Benoit Blanc in to solve a mystery with a puppet cast is bound to slip into hilarity.
This doesn’t mean that it the movie would see a horrendous return. People love the Muppets and will watch them without fail. But where things might slip is when it comes to the need to slip into something a little more serious.
It’s still an idea, but it might never happen
The way this idea is spoken of indicates that it doesn’t stand much of a chance of happening anytime soon. If it does happen, then it’s very likely that it will come when Johnson is in need of an idea to stay relevant. At that point, it might come off as a Hail Mary or something that he can create that will have little to no impact on his career.
Right now, a lot of people still hear the name Rian Johnson and think of either Knives Out or The Last Jedi. In other words, people celebrate Johnson or cringe at his mention.