Knives Out sequel officially in the works

A Knives Out sequel is officially in the works.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed during the studio's quarterly earnings call that a second film in the franchise has received the go ahead, following the success of the Daniel Craig-led first film.

The motion picture - which has earned director Rian Johnson an Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination - is getting close to hitting the $300 million (S$416 million) worldwide gross mark.

Speaking about the potential of a sequel to the whodunnit movie, Johnson recently said: "I had such a good time making it, such a great time working with Daniel, and now just seeing that audiences are responding to it, the idea of continuing it on seems like it would just be a blast.

"But there's a lot that has to happen before that can happen, first and foremost being writing a script. So, we'll see."

And Craig recently admitted he would be "over the moon" to return for the Knives Out sequel.

The Spectre star said: "Sure.

"I'd be over the moon. I mean, I'd do anything for Rian. If he writes something, I'll do it. Of course I will. Why wouldn't I? I had a ton of fun doing it.

"You aim for that every time, you aim for that to work out.

"It rarely, rarely does, but it did on that movie and how nice is that?"

The movie's producer Ram Bergman said Craig - who will leave his role as James Bond after this year's No Time To Die film - is eager to return for a second motion picture.

He said: "Daniel had so much fun doing it, and he wants to do more."

The first movie's plot centres on a detective (Craig) sent to investigate the murder of a renowned crime novelist, and features an all-star ensemble cast made up of the likes of Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Ana de Armas.