Joseph Kosinski’s first meeting with Tom Cruise about directing a sequel to the 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun” was in 2017. Five years later, “Top Gun: Maverick” finally opened, after the pandemic led Paramount to delay its 2020 release until May of this year, when it could play to a global theatrical audience — and did it ever, earning nearly $1.5 billion worldwide.
By contrast, “Glass Onion,” writer-director Rian Johnson’s sequel to 2019’s “Knives Out,” came together quickly after Netflix snapped up the rights to the murder mystery franchise, starring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. The original was a theatrical sensation, but Netflix released “Glass Onion” in around 600 theaters for a seven-day run over the Thanksgiving holiday; its streaming debut is Dec. 23. The filmmakers, both 48, talk about working with their A-list stars, the complex logistics of crafting a crowd-pleasing blockbuster, and their shared perspective on the so-called rivalry between theaters and streaming.
Watch the full interview here as part of Variety’s Directors on Directors series, presented by MGM Studios and United Artists Releasing.
