Rian Johnson Extends 'an Invitation to Murder' in Exclusive Look at 'Knives Out'

"I'd like to extend a personal invitation to you -- an invitation to murder."

So says Rian Johnson in this amusing throwback promo for his new whodunit, Knives Out. The clip, premiering here on ET, is an ode to the murder mysteries that inspired the writer-director to craft his own: Hitchcock and Murder, She Wrote, Agatha Christie and Columbo.

"We begin this case like so many before: With a victim and an instrument of death," he explains in the video. "But that's where the mystery gets twisted... A house full of clues and a plot full of suspense! What happened to Harlan Thrombey?"

The great Christopher Plummer plays Harlan Thrombey, a famed crime novelist who is found dead soon after his 85th birthday party. Celebrity detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is called in to sleuth out whether the dysfunctional Thrombey dynasty had anything to do with Harlan's untimely demise. Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans and Michael Shannon star in this mystery that proves, as Johnson puts it: "Family can be murder."

ET's Ash Crossan recently sat down with the director, who revealed that he'd started percolating on the idea for a modernized murder mystery a decade ago, though his interest in the genre dates back as far as his childhood.

"It all came from me being a big Agatha Christie fan ever since I was a little kid," Johnson said. "I love a good whodunit. It's just the most fun type of book, the most fun type of movie. You have, like, a weird, eccentric detective; you have a big, fun cast of suspects. It's kind of self-aware and fun, but it's still a good mystery."

Knives Out is in theaters on Nov. 27.

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