'Knives Out 2' Adds 'Hamilton' And 'One Night In Miami' Star Leslie Odom Jr.

Rian Johnson is not throwing away his shot at assembling the best ensemble for a murder mystery movie. And he's doing pretty good so far with his highly anticipated sequel Knives Out 2, which has now recruited Leslie Odom Jr. to the cast.

Fresh off his Oscar nomination for his role in One Night in Miami, Leslie Odom Jr. has already landed his next gig as part of the star-studded cast for Rian Johnson's Knives Out sequel. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Odom Jr. will be joining the Daniel Craig-led Knives Out 2 cast, alongside fellow franchise newcomers Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, Dave Bautista, and Edward Norton.

Plot details and characters are being kept under lock and key for now, but right now Knives Out 2 is gunning for the first movie's title as the best-cast mystery movie...ever? Like the first film, Johnson has assembled a murderer's row of actors, and Odom Jr. is no exception. The breakout star of Broadway's Hamilton, Odom Jr. has steadily worked at carving out a name for himself on the big screen and received an Oscar nomination for playing Same Cooke in last year's One Night in Miami. It's not Odom Jr.'s first time being part of a star-studded whodunit either. He also starred in Kenneth Branagh's 2017 mystery film Murder on the Orient Express, which brings him full circle on the Agatha Christie-inspired whodunits.

Last week, we got a new casting announcement for Knives Out 2 nearly every day, and it seems like this week will keep the momentum going. We'll likely learn more cast additions as the film prepares to start shooting soon in Greece.

Rian Johnson is back to direct the sequel as part of a massive deal he signed with Netflix to make both Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3. The deal landed Johnson and producing partner Ram Bergman, under their T-Street banner, $469 million for the two sequels, with the stipulation that "Craig must star in the sequels and that each must have at least the budget of the 2019 movie, which was in the $40 million range."

The first Knives Out was a massive hit when it hit theaters in 2018, raking in $311.4 million at the box office on a $40 million budget and earning acclaim for the phenomenal performances and the razor-sharp writing. If the sequel and its buzzy cast can manage to match the first film's sense of fun and mystery (as well as allow Craig to go bananas with his Southern fried accent), then it will be undoubtedly one of the most exciting movies of the year.