Kaley Cuoco reveals she is devastated she wasn’t cast for Rian Johnson’s Knives Out 2 after doing various chemistry reads for the film. Johnson has assembled another ensemble cast for his murder mystery sequel once again led by Daniel Craig as the eccentric private detective Benoit Blanc investigating a new case in the Mediterranean. Joining Craig for Knives Out 2 is Dave Bautista, reuniting the Spectre stars, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, Jessica Henwick, Ethan Hawke and Noah Segan.
Development on Knives Out 2 began shortly after the first film debuted to rave reviews from critics in late 2019 and major box office success, grossing over $311 million against its $40 million production budget. Though initially lined up at original studio Lionsgate with Craig attached to return, Johnson and producing partner Ram Bergman would instead auction the rights to the franchise, which Netflix won in a heated battle for $469 million with a two-movie order with Craig reprising his role in both. While Knives Out 2 is expected to premiere later this year, one star is opening up about being left out of the adventure.
In a recent cover story for Glamour, Kaley Cuoco opened up about being passed over Knives Out 2. The Flight Attendant actress revealed she made it pretty far in the audition process for Rian Johnson’s murder mystery sequel, even doing chemistry reads, only for Kate Hudson to instead land the part, to which Cuoco was “so devastated.” See what Cuoco shared below:
“I was convinced [the part was mine]. I was so convinced that my bags were packed for Greece. And then I didn’t get it. I was so devastated. And I’m not [normally] devastated over roles. I had done chemistry reads, I had done Zooms. And I didn’t get it. I cried and I cried all night long. I mean, I was gutted over that. And that’s when I thought I was on fire, like, I’m for sure getting that. And they were like, ‘No, we’re going to go with Kate.’”
While some may still know Cuoco best for her role as Penny in the long-running The Big Bang Theory, the actress has been branching out to more diverse ground since the conclusion of the CBS sitcom. Cuoco scored rave reviews for her work in the HBO Max dark comedy mystery The Flight Attendant, including earning two Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her performance and as an executive producer. Additionally, Cuoco has lent her voice to the DC Universe-turned-HBO-Max animated series Harley Quinn in the titular role, for which she again scored acclaim with the series, which is gearing up for its season 3 premiere sometime this summer.
As Cuoco indicates in the interview, Knives Out 2 was set to be another major step forward for the actress in her recent rise to further stardom, making it understandable she was devastated to have been passed over in favor of Kate Hudson for the Rian Johnson movie. Thankfully for fans of the actress and the star herself, Cuoco not landing the role in the sequel didn’t set her back too far as she is set to play Doris Day in a biographical limited series about the late singer/star while also having landed the lead in the time travel romantic comedy Meet Cute with Pete Davidson from not appearing in Johnson’s film. Audiences can look forward to Cuoco’s impending return as The Flight Attendant season 2 premieres on April 21 while Craig and co. make their darkly comedic arrival with Knives Out 2 on Netflix sometime later this year.
