Rian Johnson reveals Meryl Streep ‘would kill’ her upcoming role

Rian Johnson wants Meryl Streep to star in his next Knives Out movie because she "would kill it."

The director has made three films in the mystery series with Daniel Craig leading the ensemble cast as private detective Benoit Blanc but he will be taking a break to pursue other projects before turning his attention to a fourth film and he's now confirmed he wants Streep to sign up.

Johnson told Variety: "I feel like Meryl Streep would kill it. She was born to be in one of these movies; she’s hilarious."

However, he admitted getting the actress onboard may be a tough task, adding: "I don’t know her at all."

Kerry Washington appears in the third film - Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery - and she admitted she would encourage Streep to join the cast after previously working with her on 2020 movie The Prom.

She told the publication: "You ask people about what it’s like to be in these movies, and everybody says it’s just a dream, so I would encourage her."

Johnson went on to reiterate his plan to step away from the Knives Out franchise for a while to give Craig "a little break".

He said: "It’s definitely not because I’m burned out. In fact, I feel energized after making this one. I feel excited about the possibilities of: 'OK, if we can do this, what else can we do with the murder mystery?'”

"But I had this other idea I’d been cooking for a while, and I thought: 'Well, I’ve done three of these in a row. I’ll give Daniel a little break from me and go up and do something else,’” Rian Johnson concluded.